BOSTON -- Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek will have arthroscopic surgery for cartilage damage in the left knee he injured in Monday night's game, The Boston Globe reported.
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The club gave no indication Monday how long Varitek, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday, would be out.
Varitek left Monday night's 9-8 victory over the Cleveland Indians in the bottom of the third inning, when his backup, Doug Mirabelli, pinch hit. An inning earlier, Varitek rounded second base then walked gingerly back to the bag. He scored on Wily Mo Pena's triple and caught the top of the third.
"It's been bothering him for a couple weeks and he went around second last night and twisted it a little bit," manager Terry Francona said before Tuesday night's game against Cleveland.
Varitek, who played in 85 of Boston's first 104 games, went on the disabled list after undergoing tests Tuesday.
Mirabelli started Tuesday and Ken Huckaby was called up from Triple-A Pawtucket to take Varitek's roster spot. Huckaby was hitting .207 with two homers and 16 RBI in 68 games with Pawtucket.
The Red Sox also recalled right-hander Jason Johnson from Pawtucket and optioned left-hander Javier Lopez there. Johnson started Tuesday night's game.
Boston also designated first baseman Hee-Seop Choi, who was at Pawtucket, for assignment.
Varitek is considered an outstanding handler of pitchers but struggled at the plate. He is batting .243 with 11 homers and 50 RBI. He began the season with a .272 career average with 119 homers in eight seasons, all with Boston.
He was hurt one day after right fielder Trot Nixon strained his right biceps while swinging. He went on the disabled list Monday.
Before Huckaby showed up, Francona held an audition in the clubhouse for a backup catcher. Third baseman Mike Lowell and backup infielder Alex Cora took part.
"We had a big tryout right here in the clubhouse. It was a blowout," said Lowell, who won.
Lowell "looked like he knew what he was doing," Francona said. "Cora looked like he was squatting like me. That hurt his chances right away."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=2></TD><TD width=65>
The club gave no indication Monday how long Varitek, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday, would be out.
Varitek left Monday night's 9-8 victory over the Cleveland Indians in the bottom of the third inning, when his backup, Doug Mirabelli, pinch hit. An inning earlier, Varitek rounded second base then walked gingerly back to the bag. He scored on Wily Mo Pena's triple and caught the top of the third.
"It's been bothering him for a couple weeks and he went around second last night and twisted it a little bit," manager Terry Francona said before Tuesday night's game against Cleveland.
Varitek, who played in 85 of Boston's first 104 games, went on the disabled list after undergoing tests Tuesday.
Mirabelli started Tuesday and Ken Huckaby was called up from Triple-A Pawtucket to take Varitek's roster spot. Huckaby was hitting .207 with two homers and 16 RBI in 68 games with Pawtucket.
The Red Sox also recalled right-hander Jason Johnson from Pawtucket and optioned left-hander Javier Lopez there. Johnson started Tuesday night's game.
Boston also designated first baseman Hee-Seop Choi, who was at Pawtucket, for assignment.
Varitek is considered an outstanding handler of pitchers but struggled at the plate. He is batting .243 with 11 homers and 50 RBI. He began the season with a .272 career average with 119 homers in eight seasons, all with Boston.
He was hurt one day after right fielder Trot Nixon strained his right biceps while swinging. He went on the disabled list Monday.
Before Huckaby showed up, Francona held an audition in the clubhouse for a backup catcher. Third baseman Mike Lowell and backup infielder Alex Cora took part.
"We had a big tryout right here in the clubhouse. It was a blowout," said Lowell, who won.
Lowell "looked like he knew what he was doing," Francona said. "Cora looked like he was squatting like me. That hurt his chances right away."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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06/30/11 6:43 PM ET
Varitek's bat still holds plenty of wallop
Red Sox's captain goes deep twice from five-hole of lineup
By*Evan Drellich*/*MLB.com
PHILADELPHIA -- From the damage he did to the place in the order he did it from, Jason Varitek had a game the Red Sox hadn't seen in some time Thursday.
The pair of solo homers the Red Sox's captain hit in a 5-2 win over the Phillies marked his first two-homer game in nearly 15 months, the last coming April 10, 2010, in Kansas City. It also made Varitek the oldest Sox hitter to go yard twice since Andrew Dawson, also 39, did it June, 25, 1994.
It all came out of the five-hole, a spot Varitek hadn't hit in (or anywhere higher) in nearly four years, since July 8, 2007. He was in the fifth spot that day, too.
"We've had the luxury, when we're at home, we've been hitting our catchers most of the time ninth, sometimes up in the order," manager Terry Francona said. "But when he's hitting fifth, you're hitting behind [Dustin Pedroia]. The fact that he took those swings was huge."
107 wins100 wins
Homer No. 1 for Varitek came on a full-count slider from Phils right-hander David Herndon with two down in the sixth, and it extended Boston's lead to 3-0. The long ball, Varitek's first since June 11, didn't clear the wall in right by much.
His second shot, though, was a no-doubt job to right. Varitek went back-to-back with Pedroia in the eighth off righty Drew Carpenter, with Varitek finishing the relay. He jumped on a 2-0 fastball, three pitches after Pedroia's long ball.
"I've been having a lot of starts against some lefties lately," said Varitek, who's hitting .248, with five home runs. "I was trying to have quality at-bats. I was choked up and battling in the first one, and got the ball up in the air enough here and was able to get it out. The second one, I hit well."
Varitek and the Red Sox as a whole were helped by the early exit of Cole Hamels, who came out after four innings after suffering a bruise on his right hand on an Adrian Gonzalez liner in the fourth.
Varitek, meanwhile, guided starter Jon Lester through seven innings of two-hit shutout ball.
"Any time 'Tek's swinging the bat like that," Lester said, "it's always a good thing."
The first home run for Varitek marked his 500th career extra-base hit, and the second gave him 10 two-homer games lifetime.
Evan Drellich is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @EvanDrellich. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
redsox.com
© 2011 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
06/30/11 6:43 PM ET
Varitek's bat still holds plenty of wallop
Red Sox's captain goes deep twice from five-hole of lineup
By*Evan Drellich*/*MLB.com
PHILADELPHIA -- From the damage he did to the place in the order he did it from, Jason Varitek had a game the Red Sox hadn't seen in some time Thursday.
The pair of solo homers the Red Sox's captain hit in a 5-2 win over the Phillies marked his first two-homer game in nearly 15 months, the last coming April 10, 2010, in Kansas City. It also made Varitek the oldest Sox hitter to go yard twice since Andrew Dawson, also 39, did it June, 25, 1994.
It all came out of the five-hole, a spot Varitek hadn't hit in (or anywhere higher) in nearly four years, since July 8, 2007. He was in the fifth spot that day, too.
"We've had the luxury, when we're at home, we've been hitting our catchers most of the time ninth, sometimes up in the order," manager Terry Francona said. "But when he's hitting fifth, you're hitting behind [Dustin Pedroia]. The fact that he took those swings was huge."
107 wins100 wins
Homer No. 1 for Varitek came on a full-count slider from Phils right-hander David Herndon with two down in the sixth, and it extended Boston's lead to 3-0. The long ball, Varitek's first since June 11, didn't clear the wall in right by much.
His second shot, though, was a no-doubt job to right. Varitek went back-to-back with Pedroia in the eighth off righty Drew Carpenter, with Varitek finishing the relay. He jumped on a 2-0 fastball, three pitches after Pedroia's long ball.
"I've been having a lot of starts against some lefties lately," said Varitek, who's hitting .248, with five home runs. "I was trying to have quality at-bats. I was choked up and battling in the first one, and got the ball up in the air enough here and was able to get it out. The second one, I hit well."
Varitek and the Red Sox as a whole were helped by the early exit of Cole Hamels, who came out after four innings after suffering a bruise on his right hand on an Adrian Gonzalez liner in the fourth.
Varitek, meanwhile, guided starter Jon Lester through seven innings of two-hit shutout ball.
"Any time 'Tek's swinging the bat like that," Lester said, "it's always a good thing."
The first home run for Varitek marked his 500th career extra-base hit, and the second gave him 10 two-homer games lifetime.
Evan Drellich is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @EvanDrellich. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
redsox.com
