New York’s Bobby Abreu evades the tag of Boston second baseman Gil Velazquez and steals second in the third inning last night at Fenway Park. The Yankees scored three runs in the inning.

The Providence Journal / Bob Breidenbach

BOSTON –– Last night’s long delay and the expectation of additional inclement weather meant some late lineup additions and subtractions.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, the scheduled starter, was scratched about an hour before the first pitch, out of fear that the 18-game winner could risk injury. Instead, David Pauley was the last-minute replacement.

It was Pauley’s first start for Boston since April 22, when he made a spot start against the Angels. Pauley was 14-4 with a 3.55 ERA in 25 starts with Pawtucket. He lasted only 2 2/3 innings and was charged with seven runs (six earned) on six hits, including a two-run homer to Johnny Damon.

The Sox also sat David Ortiz, who last night was to get his first start at first base since interleague play. Originally, manager Terry Francona said the Sox would use Ortiz at first and have Mike Lowell (right hip) get some at-bats as the DH.

But the rain changed the Sox plans, and while Lowell remained at DH, the Sox went with Sean Casey at first base instead.

For Lowell, the start was his first since Sept. 16 in Tampa. He missed the entire series in Toronto last weekend and all four games against Cleveland on this homestand. He got one at-bat in the first inning, flying out to left, then was lifted for precautionary reasons in the third inning. Chris Carter replaced him as a pinch-hitter.

As for Matsuzaka, it was unclear when –– or whether –– he would get another start over the weekend. Before the game, Francona said Matsuzaka would be pushed to today’s nationally televised game, bumping Josh Beckett to tomorrow’s regular-season finale.

Tests slated for Drew

J.D. Drew, who was out of last night’s lineup, was sent to Massachusetts General Hospital to undergo a battery of tests.

“J.D. was tested very extensively today to rule out any orthopedic problems,” said Francona. “All of the blood work and scans came back reassuring. Now, there’s some that haven’t come back today because he had it today. We’re trying to exhaust every possibility just to do our homework. Everything has come back very reassuring. Saying that, he’s not in the lineup today because his back is hurting. I think where we’re at right now is we go according to symptoms. We’re trying to do the best we can.”

Drew has been hampered since the middle of last month with a herniated disk in his back. He returned to the lineup Wednesday, though only briefly.

The Sox don’t have to finalize their ALDS roster until the middle of next week –– depending on the format and schedule –– but may have a tough decision to make on Drew.

“We’re not at next week,” Francona said. “I don’t know. I really don’t know. We’ve played without him. We’ve had him for three innings for the last 39 days, and we’ve handled it. We’ll just do the best we can.”

Crisp out, gets injection

Coco Crisp, who had played just once in the previous four games on the homestand, missed last night, too, after getting an injection under his left big toe.

“He was very tender (Thursday), which I think you can imagine,” Francona said. “You get a needle in your foot — it isn’t real fun. We need to give him a few days to let the injection work and to let him play as long as we play. I don’t think he’s going to be pain-free, ever, this year. But we’ll just (hope the injection) kind of alleviates some of that pain.”

Personal bests

A number of personal goals were at stake in the final weekend.

Dustin Pedroia was in contention for the American League batting title. Pedroia, .325, went into the game trailing Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer, who was at .330.

Jacoby Ellsbury stole his 50th base of the season, becoming first rookie to reach that milestone since Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki stole 56 in 2001.

Ellsbury became just the third player in franchise history, following Tris Speaker (52 in 1912) and club record-holder Tommy Harper (54 in 1973).

Around the bases

Heading into last night, the Red Sox bullpen had strung together 15 continuous scoreless innings over the previous five games. Over the last seven games, covering 19 innings, the Sox bullpen had allowed just a single run, lowering the collective bullpen ERA to 3.79, sixth in the American League. … Ellsbury extended his hitting streak to 17 straight games with a leadoff homer in the first inning. The streak is the longest by a rookie in the major leagues this season and the longest by a Red Sox rookie since Nomar Garciaparra hit in 30 straight in 1997. … Gil Velazquez got his first major-league start last night at second base. When he came to the plate in the bottom of the second, the half-full house gave him a standing ovation for his first at-bat. Velazquez grounded out to third.