NEW YORK — Not surprisingly, Dustin Pedroia’s assertion Tuesday night that Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez had been guilty of a dirty takeout slide became a bigger story yesterday.

Reporters gathered at Pedroia’s locker yesterday afternoon as he arrived for clarification. The rookie second baseman didn’t back down much from his comments the previous night.

At issue: Pedroia believed that Rodriguez swiped him with an elbow after sliding into second in the eighth inning of the Sox’ 7-3 victory. The Yankees yesterday indicated that Rodriguez may have been seeking payback after Pedroia went out of the baseline in taking out Derek Jeter six innings earlier.

“No, I didn’t think my slide was wrong,” said Pedroia. “I might have been out of (the base) line. If I did, I apologize to Jeter.”

As for Rodriguez, Pedroia added: “I’ve been in the big leagues for three months and he’s probably the best player in baseball. I’m not going to tell him how to slide.”

Still, Pedroia said he would drop his arm slot the next time the occasion arises because “it protects me if guys are going to come in late with a high elbow.”

Umpire Joe West, the crew chief, called for a meeting between managers Joe Torre and Terry Francona to issue warnings to both clubs and ensure that the issue didn’t carry over to last night.

Beckett’s simulated game

Josh Beckett threw a five-inning simulated game in the bullpen yesterday afternoon, though somewhat surprisingly he threw with a bandage on his right middle finger.

Beckett, who has been on the disabled list with an avulsion of the finger retroactive to his last start on Mother’s Day, was expected to throw without a Band-aid. Instead, Beckett long-tossed without a bandage, but covered up the finger for his bullpen session.

He threw five 15-pitch innings, and counting warmup throws and his session of long-toss, he estimated that he threw 120-130 pitches.

“I threw without any hindrance,” said Beckett. “Today was like a game day for me. We’re doing everything we can to test it and make sure it’s going to be OK.”

Mike Timlin, another pitcher on the disabled list, threw again yesterday and was scheduled to return to Boston, where he will be examined. Timlin has been sidelined for the last three weeks because of shoulder inflammation. Timlin will then begin a rehab assignment with Pawtucket tomorrow or Saturday.

Night off for Drew

J.D. Drew, hitless in his last 10 at-bats and batting only .161 (14-for-87) over his last 25 games, was given the night off by the Sox with lefty Andy Pettitte on the mound for the Yankees.

“J.D. has been working so hard with (hitting coach Dave Magadan),” said Francona, “that every once in a while, it’s good to take a deep breath. We’re just giving him the day off. And a day for Wily Mo (Pena) to play is not bad, either.”

Around the bases

Reports out of the Bay Area, indicating the Sox are pursuing Oakland A’s starter Rich Harden, are erroneous. “He’s going to be a tough guy to deal,” said one industry source, “because Oakland will want too much for him (because of his ability) and no one will be willing to give up much (because of durability issues) in return.” …When the Yankees scored an unearned run in the second inning, it ended Curt Schilling’s streak of 69 straight starts without allowing an unearned run, a major-league record. … When Derek Jeter picked up his second hit in the second inning last night, it was also the 2,215th career hit for Jeter, moving him ahead of Joe DiMaggio for fifth place on the Yankees’ all-time list. … The Yankees honored Virginia Tech before the game, contributing $1 million to a memorial fund and vowing to play an exhibition game near the school sometime next year.

smcadam@projo.com