By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff

NEW YORK — Dustin Pedroia jammed his left ring finger when he slid into second base on an unsuccessful steal attempt in the eighth inning against Baltimore on Sunday.

He had the finger wrapped today and was scheduled to get x-rays before the game.

"I don't think it's too bad, but it's bothering me," he said.

As for the absence of Jacoby Ellsbury, here is what Bobby Valentine had to offer:

"Ells hasn't played in a long time. We've got the lefthander [CC Sabathia] out there and a big outfield. He'll play the next two days, hopefully, if he's feeling good."

Ellsbury is 6 of 28 (.214) against Sabathia in his career with nine strikeouts.

Ellsbury has started only two of the last 10 games.

The Red Sox lineup has six players who started the season at Triple A Pawtucket.

In other news:

• The Yankees will start David Phelps on Tuesday instead of struggling Ivan Nova. Phelps, a 25-year-old rookie, has started two games against the Red Sox (Aug. 18 and Sept. 12) and allowed four earned runs over 12.1 innings with 12 strikeouts.

Nova is 2-5, 7.05 in 11 starts since the All-Star break.

• Will Middlebrooks took batting practice on the field for the first time since fracturing his right wrist on Aug. 10 when he was hit by a pitch. He seemed to get through it OK.