SEATTLE -- Manny Ramirez 's return to the starting lineup lasted only one game.

Ramirez told manager Terry Francona he wasn't able to play in yesterday's series finale with the Mariners because of a sore right knee. Ramirez had started in Saturday night's 4-3 loss to Seattle.

So the Red Sox, their postseason hopes getting dimmer as the days go by and players remaining unavailable because of various nagging injuries, once again were forced to play a game with a patchwork lineup.

Kevin Youkilis , who missed the previous two games because of a stomach virus, was moved from the infield to start in Ramirez's place in left field, which led a shift from second base to first base for Mark Loretta , who has been hobbled by a sore right quadriceps.

While Ramirez wasn't able to play left field because of his knee, the option seemed to exist that maybe he could serve as the Sox' designated hitter, with David Ortiz playing first base.

But that, said a clearly frustrated Francona, was not an option.

"He said he couldn't play," snapped Francona. "If a guy says he can't play, I'm not going to make him play. That just doesn't work. If a guy can't play, he can't (bleeping) play. Go ask him. If he can't (bleeping) play, he can't (bleeping) play."

Ramirez's presence in the lineup has been limited since last Monday, when he came out of the game against the Yankees in the fourth inning because of his knee. He started only twice in the first six games of this nine-game, finishing only one of them. Ramirez went 0 for 6.

"We were hoping having a couple of days off would be enough. He thought he would be ready for Oakland (a series that begins tonight) then he came to me (Friday night) and said he'd play (Saturday night). Then what happened is he played and didn't feel great. Where it stands now, I don't know," said Francona.

Lester can't go

Left-hander Jon Lester will be unable to take the ball for his scheduled start tonight in Oakland.

Lester is being bothered by lower back stiffness. Francona said he was sent back to Boston yesterday for further tests.

The rookie started last Wednesday night in Anaheim. But his start that night had been in jeopardy because of his back. Lester worked five innings and earned the win in Boston's 5-4 triumph. After the game he said he had been involved in a fender bender on Storrow Drive in Boston on Aug. 18 on his way to the park for a start that night against the Yankees, no doubt the accident contributing to his back woes.

Another rookie left-hander, Kason Gabbard , will start in Lester's place tonight.

The problems mount

And the injuries keep on coming.

Catcher Doug Mirabelli was unavailable to start yesterday because he tweaked his sore left ankle during batting practice Saturday, said Francona. So Javy Lopez was back in the lineup, starting back-to-back games. Francona rarely has a catcher start back-to-back when it's a day game following a night game, as was the case yesterday, but he didn't have a choice.

Wily Mo Pena 's left wrist still was tender, so he was held out of the starting lineup, leaving the Sox with a defensively challenged outfield of Youkilis in left, Coco Crisp in center and Eric Hinske in right.

Right-hander Keith Foulke , meanwhile, had been unavailable to pitch Saturday night because of a stiff back, a problem that has been plaguing him off and on for a month.

But there were at least two promising notes on the injury front.

It appears as if Josh Beckett , who had to leave his last start because of a cut on his middle finger, will be able to make his next scheduled start, tomorrow night in Oakland. And knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (ribs) continues to make progress. He will throw off the mound again tonight in Oakland.

With all that has been going on in terms of injuries, Francona was fighting the temptation to feel sorry for himself despite the unusually long string of such problems.

"It happens a lot in the minor leagues where the big-league team takes up players and you play short, but not (that much) at this level. We don't dwell on it. No one wants to hear 'woe is me.' We're just trying to show up and be good enough," said Francona.

Around the bases

Lopez threw out his first basestealer as a member of the Red Sox. Lopez had been 0 for 13 until nailing Raul Ibanez on a strike-him-out, throw-him-out double play in the third . . . After getting only one extra-base hit in a 23-game stretch from July 30 to Aug. 25, Mike Lowell has had one in each of his last two games -- a double Saturday night and a solo homer yesterday . . . Hinske made an outstanding diving catch after a long run toward the right-field line, robbing Rene Rivera of extra bases in the seventh.

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