NEW YORK -- The Sox announced before tonight's game that RHP Tim Wakefield had been activated, which really was nothing more than a formality.

In what also was a fait accompli, the Sox placed outfielder J.D. Drew (lower back strain) on the 15-day disabled list. Manager Terry Francona hinted as much when he reported during his pregame news conference that Drew had visited with a spine specialist in New York this morning and that, "we still have some talking to do with [Drew]."

NEW YORK -- Josh Beckett, who had been shelved after being hampered by a tingling feeling in the fingers of his right throwing arm in his last outing (2.1 innings, 8 hits, 8 earned runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts) Aug. 17 vs. the Blue Jays, threw a side session today at Yankee Stadium that convinced Sox manager Terry Francona his ace would be available to take his next turn in the rotation against the White Sox Friday at Fenway Park.

"Beckett threw a side and did really well," Francona told reporters during his pregame news conference. "He threw 50 pitches and he was strong and he's ready to go Friday. I'm excited, and because he's excited so are we."

Francona reported Beckett, "did a real good flat-ground [session] and had a really good bullpen and he's all set to go."

Asked if Beckett was pain-free, tingle-free, Francona replied, "Yes, we wouldn't let him throw a side until he was symptom free."

Was there any particular need to see how he will be Wednesday?

"We'll always check with everybody, but we're pretty comfortable that he's ready to go," Francona said. "He probably could've pitched the other day, but we always try to do things the right way, even when it's not easy to do. I think we're real comfortable backing him up, because now he can go out and pitch and not think about it and go out and compete."

Francona wasn't as encouraged with J.D. Drew (back), who saw a spine specialist this morning in New York and appeared headed for the disabled list. As a precaution, the Sox brought along Joe Thurston to New York.

"Obviously, you saw we have Thurston here and there's a pretty good chance that we're going to activate Thurston for this game," he said.

Francona expected to make an announcement on that before the game. We'll bring it to you when it happens. Earlier in the afternoon, the Sox announced they had optioned Chris Smith to Pawtucket. As reported by Amalie Benjamin, Smith was optioned, but Thurston took his spot on the 25-man roster. Thurston was purchased from Pawtucket, and was also placed on the 40-man roster. To make room on the 40-man, Bartolo Colon was moved to the 60-day disabled list.

On the Mike Lowell front, Francona lit up and said, "Mikey's doing real well. He did a bunch of core work today and had a strengthening exam with the trainers. He won't hit today. But if everything goes like they think it will, he'll hit off the tee tomorrow. He's doing very well."

Francona declined to place a timetable on Lowell's return from his oblique injury, but he did indicate the injury was confined to his oblique and was not related to a nagging hip injury Lowell has battled through this season.

"Yes, I think that hip is going to be sore from time to time, just because he has that condition, but that's never stopped him from playing, or playing well," Francona said. "We just need to get rid of this oblique."

With this three-game set against the Yankees likely to loom large in the Sox' postseason hopes, Francona was not about to wax nostalgic on this trip being his last to the venerable House That Ruth Built.

"I don't think we allow ourselves to get caught up in that," Francona said. "What makes this place so special I don't think is the building, it's what happened in this stadium. There's so many great players and great teams that have come through here. That's what makes this place so special.

"Any team can erect monuments, but the reason those monuments are up is because they're great players, that's no secret," Francona added. "But we're moving what, a hundred yards? The only difference from where I sit is that their payroll will go up a bunch more and make it harder for us."

Jeff Bailey was inserted into lineup in place of Sean Casey, who reported no ill effects from the stiff neck that bothered him at Toronto. Francona opted for Bailey because Casey "hasn't picked up a bat in five days," he said. "Even though his numbers are really good, for a guy who hasn't picked up a bat in four or five days, you're probably not going to see the hitter you're looking for."

Paul Byrd weighed in on the implementation of instant replay in Friday's games.

"I think it'll be good," he said. "As long as it doesn't make the game go too slow, I think it's good. There have been some tough calls this year and there's always going to be tough calls. Guys are having enough trouble calling outs on the bases and strikes and this and that, so to make a call about 100 feet away after someone smokes the ball off the wall, I think it's a good thing."

Asked if he had any concerns about replays lengthening already lengthy games, Byrd replied, "Yeah, I think so. It's going to be weird, `Hey, let's take a timeout, throw the red flag, and go review it [like in the NFL].' That's going to be weird. I think that's a situation that's needed, especially if I get blown up and it's not really a home run."

While we said earlier that Chris Smith has been optioned to Pawtucket to make room for Tim Wakefield, that isn't technically true. Smith was optioned, but Joe Thurston took his spot on the 25-man roster. Thurston was purchased from Pawtucket, and was also placed on the 40-man roster. To make room on the 40-man, Bartolo Colon was moved to the 60-day disabled list. (That doesn't actually make a difference for Colon, as he's been on long enough that he can be taken off at any time.)

Wakefield has not yet been activated. That means there will be another move before tonight's first pitch.

NEW YORK -- A few quick nuggets from Yankee Stadium ...

• Reliever Chris Smith was sent to Pawtucket to make a spot for tonight's starter, Tim Wakefield, to come off the disabled list.
• Outfielder Joe Thurston (.314 10 homers, 62 RBIs with Triple A Pawtucket this season) is here but has not been activated. He likely would get added to the roster if the Red Sox put J.D. Drew (missed the last six games with a back injury) on the DL. A decision has not yet been made on Drew, who went to a spine specialist this morning in New York.
• First baseman Sean Casey is actually able to play tonight, saying his stiff neck is better. However, Jeff Bailey will get the start at first base.

NEW YORK -- Here are the lineups for tonight's game:

Red Sox

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, RF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. Jason Bay, LF
6. Jed Lowrie, SS
7. Coco Crisp, CF
8. Jeff Bailey, 1B
9. Kevin Cash, C
-- Tim Wakefield, SP

Yankees

1. Johnny Damon, CF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Bobby Abreu, RF
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Jason Giambi, 1B
6. Xavier Nady, LF
7. Hideki Matsui, DH
8. Robinson Cano, 2B
9. Jose Molina, C
-- Andy Pettitte, SP

We just got word that Carl Yastrzemski is now out of the hospital. Good news all around.

Yastrzemski underwent emergency triple-bypass surgery last Tuesday at Massachusetts General Hospital after being diagnosed with coronary artery disease.

Yastrzemski, the folk hero of the 1967 Impossible Dream season that forever changed the franchise's fortunes, underwent a six-hour procedure to reroute the flow of blood around blockages in three arteries to his heart.

Background material from the Globe's Bob Hohler was used in this report.

at Yankee Stadium, New York

Tonight (7:05, NESN, WKRO 680): RHP Tim Wakefield (7-8, 3.67 ERA) vs. LHP Andy Pettitte (13-9, 4.17).

Tomorrow (7:05 p.m., NESN, WEEI 850): RHP Paul Byrd (8-11, 4.61) vs. RHP Sidney Ponson (7-4, 4.67).

Thursday (1:05 p.m., NESN, WEEI): LHP Jon Lester (12-5, 3.49) vs. RHP Mike Mussina (16-7, 3.45).

Head to head: The teams have split 12 games this season; they will play at Fenway in the last series of the regular season, Sept. 26-28.

Miscellany: Twelve of the Yankees' remaining 32 games are against Boston and Tampa Bay . . . New York is 20-15 since the All Star break, but 11-11 in August . . . Before Derek Jeter's 0 for 5 Sunday against the Orioles, he had hit in nine straight games, batting .463 during that stretch.

By Dan Hickling, Globe Correspondent

PORTLAND, Maine -- Clay Buchholz pitched seven innings for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs tonight against the New Britain Rock Cats. Save for one rough inning, he looked like the Buchholz of old (at this level) anyway. He allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits, struck out eight Rock Cats and didn't walk any.

Buchholz threw 93 pitches, 69 for strikes, and capped his night with a nifty coverage play at first base. He left the game with a lead, but did not get the win after the Rock Cats rallied for two runs in the eighth and pulled out a 6-5 victory.

Buchholz was quite pleased with the way he threw, and the way he felt.

"I felt really good," Buchholz said. "There were a lot of mechanical things that I've been thinking about, that I didn't try to think about (tonight). I went back to what I did last year when I was here. They seemed to work real well for me. So I tried to revert back to that a little bit."

He said his next start will probably come on Saturday. He also said he's prepared himself to stay in Portland for the rest of the season.

By Dan Hickling, Globe Correspondent

PORTLAND, Maine -- Checking in from Hadlock Field, where, tonight, Clay Buchholz will begin process of rediscovering his command and confidence.

Buchholz will be facing the New Britain Rock Cats (Minnesota), which as a team is batting .264 (in the middle of the Eastern League pack) and whose leading hitter is CF Steve Tolleson (.311). Also in the line up is 3B Toby Gardenhire (.270), son of Minnesota skipper Ron Gardenhire.

There is no particular pitch count to limit Buchholz, whose promotion from Portland a year ago led to the elevation of Justin Masterson.

One other thing...by coincidence, happy or otherwise, tonight had long been pegged as "Clay Buchholz Bobble-head Night."

"We were trying to figure out the odds of this happening," said Portland GM Charlie Eshbach.

More to come...

The Globe's Dan Shaughnessy believes this week's Red Sox-Yankees series (Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m., Thursday at 1 p.m.) will be the Sox' last trip to Yankee Stadium, meaning he's predicting the Bombers will miss the playoffs for the first time in 14 seasons. Click below to watch his series preview ...