BOSTON — Kason Gabbard will get the nod for the Boston Red Sox today.

With Red Sox manager Terry Francona tweaking his starting rotation a bit, there was speculation Gabbard would make his first start of the season for Boston today and Tim Wakefield would get pushed back in order to face the Yankees tomorrow in New York. The manager made it official after last night’s 14-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

Not to put too much pressure on the 25-year-old southpaw, but Francona already knows what he expects from Gabbard.

“A lot of good innings,” said the manager. “We saw Gabby last year and [we need] his fastball down. His changeup and breaking ball, we think, are improving as he pitches consistent innings. We hope he puts it all together [today] and gives us seven or eight good innings.”

This will be Gabbard’s first appearance for the Sox this season after he made his major-league debut last July 22 for Boston at Seattle. The southpaw went 1-3 with a 3.51 ERA in seven appearances (four starts) for the Red Sox last season. He’s 3-1 with a 2.75 ERA in eight starts for the PawSox this season.

“He’s been throwing the ball pretty well and we know he’ll compete,” said Francona. “He won’t be scared and give us everything he has. If he’s down [in the zone], he’ll be fine.”

As a result of Gabbard’s promotion, Devern Hansack was optioned back to Pawtucket after last night’s game and will start for the PawSox against Syracuse on Friday at McCoy Stadium.

Lowell proving his worth

When Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell takes a peek at the club’s batting order, he quickly realizes he’ll have a good opportunity to do some serious damage every day he’s in the lineup.

In the sixth spot behind such guys as Julio Lugo, Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and J.D. Drew, Lowell’s sitting and hitting in a pretty good position. He took advantage of that yesterday.

He increased his average to .333 after his 4-for-5 performance in yesterday’s matinee. He had a pair of singles, a double and a grand slam to help Boston to a 13-3 thrashing of the Atlanta Braves at Fenway Park.

“I get a lot of opportunities,” he said. “I’m just satisfied I’m doing a good job driving in runs, but I like those situations. I’m a guy who has always hit in the middle of the lineup, and I like to hit with runners in scoring position. I think I have the mindset for that.”

Lowell was a triple away from the cycle yesterday and he said afterward that he really wasn’t thinking about it. He’s hit for the cycle only once in his pro career and that was while in the minors for the New York Yankees.

“I’ll take four hits, believe me,” he said. “I don’t care if they’re four bloopers over the first baseman.”

For the second straight season with Red Sox, Lowell is off to a tremendous start. Last year, his first in Boston, he had a career-high 47 doubles — thanks in part to the Green Monster — and hit 20 homers with 80 RBI.

This season it could be much of the same. He entered last night’s game with eight homers and 35 RBI. When asked what the trick is in getting off to a good start, he was quick to answer.

“I don’t know,” he said. “If I did, I would use it in July, August and September.”

Uncharacteristically, the Sox’ third baseman has already made eight errors this season, after committing only six last year.

“Defensively, that first week was a little bit of an aberration,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “He plays the game so solidly in all aspects. He’s given us production out of that sixth hole and in our batting order, that’s going to be a huge spot.”

The Sox manager said he feels Lowell is driving the ball better and harder this season and yesterday was just proof of that.

On the mend

A pair of Red Sox pitchers took steps closer to returning yesterday. Left-handed starter Jon Lester made a rehab start for the Pawtucket Red Sox last night against the Ottawa Lynx and worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit with one walk and two strikeouts. He threw 48 pitches (29 strikes) and retired the last 10 batters he faced.

Reliever Mike Timlin (shoulder tendinitis) played long toss yesterday at 120 feet and will take today off. The veteran right-hander is scheduled to throw off the mound tomorrow before any further decisions are made.

Francona keeps mind on field

Most players, managers and coaches will say they don’t listen to the radio, watch the television news or read newspapers. But, that’s not always the case. Francona said yesterday morning he doesn’t pay attention to outside distractions because he feels it could have an effect on the way he does his job.

The reason Francona was discussing the matter was because of the actions taken by Chicago White Sox’ manager Ozzie Guillen on Friday morning. He was driving to Wrigley Field, where the White Sox would be playing the Cubs in an interleague game when he heard one of his players, A.J. Pierzynski, complaining about the lack of playing time during a local sports-talk show. The manager called the station and ripped the host on the air, who had criticized Guillen’s decision not to play him.

When asked if he listened to local Boston stations, Francona had a quick answer.

“That would be a no,” he said.

“I didn’t hear anything about that,” added Francona. “The only time I ever listen is on Wednesdays when I do [the Dale and Holley show on WEEI]. I flick it on just to know what I need to stay ahead of, but other than that it doesn’t help me do my job. … It’s like reading the paper, too. If you wake up and jump to see how you’re being perceived, it’s going to affect the way you do your job — good, bad or in between. So I would just rather do what I need to do, answer the questions and move on.”

Francona said he doesn’t have a policy in place for the Red Sox players, saying they can do what they want.

Shuffling the lineup

Because the Red Sox will play three games in a 24-hour period, Francona had a little bit of maneuvering to do with his lineup. Drew slammed into the right-field wall during Wednesday’s game and missed both games of Thursday’s doubleheader because of a sore back. He played the matinee yesterday, had the nightcap off and is scheduled to play today.

Lowell played both games yesterday but will have today off, according to the manager. Ramirez played six innings of yesterday’s afternoon game. After the Sox took a huge lead, he was replaced by Wily Mo Pena. Ramirez was in the lineup last night, and will likely play again today. Youkilis was given last night’s game off, but will play today.

Extra innings

Former Red Sox and PawSox utility man Willie Harris started in left field for the Atlanta Braves yesterday. … Youkilis smoked a two-run homer to center field in the matinee to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games. The roundtripper was Youkilis’ fifth of the season. … Lugo, Boston’s leadoff man, hit a home run in his first at-bat in the first game. He drove a 1-1 offering off Braves starter Anthony Lerew into the Monster seats. It was the first leadoff homer of the season for the Red Sox and the eighth of Lugo’s career.

jmcdonal@projo.com