Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka fires a pitch to Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki in the first inning of last night’s game.

The Providence Journal / Bob Breidenbach Bob Breidenbach

SEATTLE — Before the Red Sox can activate Curt Schilling to make his start tomorrow night, the team must first find a way to clear a spot for him on the 25-man roster.

More than likely, that will mean sending Javier Lopez to Pawtucket. Lopez has options remaining and will have to be sacrificed in a numbers crunch.

There are no other candidates for demotion, as the remainder of the relievers are either indispensable or have enough service time to refuse a minor-league assignment.

After a rough stretch earlier in the summer, Lopez has pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings in his last eight appearances and has been scored upon in just one of his last 13 outings. Over his last 17 outings, Lopez has a 2.13 ERA. For the season, Lopez is 2-1 with a 2.87 ERA.

Lopez’s departure will leave the Sox with just one lefty — Hideki Okajima — in their seven-man bullpen.

Lopez might not return to the 25-man roster until Sept. 1, unless an injury forces another reliever to the disabled list.

Drew’s back in the lineup

J.D. Drew last night returned to the starting lineup for the first time since early in the week. Drew was in right field, despite the presence of lefty Jarrod Washburn, Seattle’s starting pitcher.

Drew, who was given some time off as his 17-month-old son underwent back surgery in Boston, entered Friday’s game as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning for Pena and went 0-for-2.

Drew went into last night just 4-for-29 (.138) in his last nine games and 11-for-65 (.169) in his last 21, as his batting average sank form .265 to .245.

“We want to get him back in there,” said manager Terry Francona. “The hope is that, with the time spent (out of the lineup) makes him feel good. You hope something comes from not playing. Maybe one good thing is his leg gets a little better.”

Drew has been battling some soreness in his hamstring the last few weeks.

Unhappy Clark deserts PawSox

Brady Clark, who signed a Triple-A deal with Pawtucket last week, has returned home to Oregon, unhappy that the organization has not promoted him to the major-league roster.

Clark, who had been designated for assignment earlier in the season by the Los Angeles Dodgers, had hoped that the Sox would move Wily Mo Pena at the trade deadline, thus creating a roster spot for him in Boston.

But when the Sox didn’t move Pena, and Clark faced the prospect of waiting for rosters to expand on Sept. 1 before joining Boston, he left the Triple-A affiliate and returned home, where he has a newborn baby.

The Sox intend to place him on the inactive list — effectively suspending him — until the situation can be resolved.

The move precludes Clark from signing with another club.

Ortiz gains elite status on DH homer list

Before the end of the season, it’s likely that David Ortiz will rank fourth all-time among designated hitters for career homers.

Ortiz went into last night with 209 homers as a DH, 10 behind Don Baylor, who hit 219 as a DH. Frank Thomas is the career leader with 251, followed by Edgar Martinez (243) and Harold Baines (235).

Ortiz, who homered here Friday, has five homers in his last 18 games. Friday’s homer pushed him past Jose Canseco (208) and into fifth place on the list.

Lugo’s speed serves him well

Friday night, Julio Lugo beat out his 20th infield hit of the season, making him third in that category in the American League. More than one-third of Lugo’s singles — 20 of 59 — haven’t left the infield. … Red Sox players gathered around the clubhouse TV to watch Joel Pineiro’s first at-bat with St. Louis last night. Pineiro, dealt to the Cardinals last week, started for the Cards against Washington yesterday.

smcadam@projo.com