BOSTON — Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis left Thursday's loss to Tampa Bay after six innings and has already been ruled out of the Friday night contest.
Youkilis, who has bursitis in his left hip and a sports hernia, was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts at the time. He is hitting .167 (6-for-36) with 11 strikeouts this month and has looked awkward in the field at times.
"I don't know," manager Terry Francona said when asked what the condition of Youkilis is. "He's nowhere near pulling the plug on the season or anything like that, but it's pretty obvious that he's struggling going out there. So we'll see. I don’t know exactly how to answer that because I don’t know what the answer is."
Youkilis said before the game that he is just trying to do the little things here and there to help the team win, knowing he is not himself. He will have surgery for the hernia in the offseason.
Francona also said that Jed Lowrie, still bothered by left shoulder pain, will not be available Friday. Mike Aviles figures to get the start at third base.
