Andrew Miller will remain in the Red Sox rotation for at least one more turn, a move which will allow Tim Wakefield to make his next attempt at career win No. 200 at home.
Wakefield originally was scheduled to start Thursday's series finale in Texas, but Miller will appear that night. Wakefield will be pushed back to Friday, when Boston hosts Oakland in the opener of a nine-game homestand.
The knuckleballer has already tried five times to attain his 200th win. He is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in those five starts.
Meanwhile, Miller made his first start in nearly three weeks Friday night and picked up the victory, giving up one run on three hits in 5 1/3 innings against Kansas City.
Manager Terry Francona said that he would use Miller at least once more in a starting role in order to give other pitchers a little rest, but was not sure exactly when that would be. The fact that Wakefield is 5-13 with a 6.26 ERA in Arlington may have been one factor in the move. The other is that the team does not have a day off again until Aug. 29, when it ends a stretch of 14 games in 13 days.
Looking beyond Wakefield, the Red Sox will have John Lackey and Josh Beckett lined up for the first two games of the upcoming series with the New York Yankees, a set that starts Tuesday. The third game would need to be started by either Miller or Wakefield, although Jon Lester could come back on normal rest if the club would rather use Miller or Wakefield in the next series against Texas at home.
