SEATTLE -- The injury-plagued Red Sox were forced to shake up their lineup yet again last night, this time because of a case of stomach flu being endured by first baseman Kevin Youkilis.

Youkilis caught the bug from third-base coach DeMarlo Hale and was unable to play last night.

So manager Terry Francona turned to Mark Loretta to start at the position last night.

Loretta, the Sox' second baseman, had missed the previous two games because of a sore right quadriceps. It wasn't as if the position was foreign to him. Loretta had 160 games of major-league experience under his belt at first base, though he hadn't played there since he appeared in five games in 2002 for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Earlier in the year, after the Sox released J.T. Snow, Loretta had been tabbed as the backup first baseman behind Youkilis and David Ortiz. But he hadn't been needed.

Last night, Francona could have gone with Eric Hinske at the position, but the Mariners were starting a left-handed pitcher (Jake Woods) and Hinkse bats left-handed. So Francona opted for Loretta, which enabled him to use rookie Dustin Pedroia at second base.

"I must have had a premonition," said Loretta. "I made sure I threw in my first baseman's glove [in his equipment bag for the trip]. I've played enough over there that I feel comfortable. I'll just go out and rely on my instincts."

It was clear that Loretta's quad was hampering him in the third. He hit a sharp bouncer to third base that bounced off Willie Bloomquist's chest and rolled a foot or so away from the third baseman.

But he picked up the ball and still was able to throw out Loretta because Loretta was unable to run hard down the line.

Manny still on shelf

The Sox still were without Manny Ramirez in the starting lineup.

The left fielder is suffering from patella tendinitis in his right knee. He hit in the cage before the normal batting practice session, and seemed to be available to pinch-hit. But Francona said he didn't know when Ramirez would feel healthy enough to play in the field.

Ramirez's absence, plus Youkilis' illness, forced Francona to find yet another cleanup hitter. Wily Mo Pena batted fourth last night, becoming the fifth player to fill that spot for Boston this season. Ramirez (121 games), Youkilis (3 games), Trot Nixon (2 games) and Mike Lowell (1 game) were the others.

Beckett in limbo

Josh Beckett, who had to leave Thursday night's start in Anaheim because of a cut on the outside tip of his right middle finger, wasn't sure yesterday if he'd have to miss a turn in the rotation.

He showed the cut to the media. It was relatively small and appeared to already have started to heal. But there's a difference between a healed cut on a layman's finger and a healed cut on a pitcher's finger when that finger applies pressure to the baseball, often rubbing hard up against the seams, to make the various pitches.

Francona indicated that a contingency plan is in place in the event Beckett is unable to make his next scheduled start, which would be Tuesday night in Oakland. Rookie left-hander Kason Gabbard likely would get the nod, but the Sox will know more in a day or so after Beckett attempts to throw his normal between-starts side session.

Timlin on target

Mike Timlin, the Sox' 40-year-old reliever, earned last night off after having pitched the previous two nights for a total of 2 2/3 innings.

Timlin had two strong outings against the Angels after having been hammered for six earned runs over 2 2/3 innings in his previous three appearances.

He said he made some adjustments -- mental adjustments, not physical ones.

"Sometimes you just go out there and you're throwing and you just don't have that great concentration," said Timlin. "That's when you get hurt. It's a gradual thing. It happens to everybody."

He said there was no one moment or base hit he gave up that snapped him back into a better concentration level.

"You just get a realization that you have to pick it up a notch," said Timlin.

Back on the mend

Tim Wakefield (ribs), who had a successful side session on Thursday, followed that up by playing catch yesterday. He'll have today off and throw another session off the mound tomorrow.

Francona was afraid he might be getting ahead of himself again, but he thought if tomorrow's workout went well, Wakefield's next test might be to throw to some hitters a few days later.

Assessing Clement

Matt Clement (shoulder) played catch on Thursday for the first time in three weeks, but Francona didn't seem optimistic about any speedy return by the right-hander. He hoped, however, that the Sox would know more about Clement's condition before the end of the season so as to be better able to assess his future.

skrasner@projo.com / (401) 277-7340