Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka fires a pitch in first-inning action against the Athletics last night at Oakland.

AP / Ben Margot Ben Margot

OAKLAND — Interleague play on the road, where the pitchers hit and the designated hitters sit, doesn’t start for Boston until Friday, when the Red Sox open a three-game series in Arizona.

But the Red Sox’ pitchers — the starters, anyway — have been getting ready for those situations when they’ll have to pick up a bat and stand in the batter’s box.

Manager Terry Francona said yesterday that they started preparing for the addition to their job description when the team was home last week.

He said that, instead of hitting on the field, the pitchers went into the cage behind the Boston dugout, where they did some “dry” swinging, hit off a tee, advanced to soft-toss hitting and then to bunting off a machine before bunting and swinging in “live” batting practice against hitting coach Dave Magadan and strength and conditioning coach David Page.

“Pitchers are creatures of habit. They do some things at 4 o’clock, and then other things (at specific times), and we didn’t want to mess with that,” said Francona of the in-game workouts.

Francona isn’t worried about how well his pitchers will hit, but is more concerned that interleague play on the road puts any American League team at a disadvantage.because the DH isn’t used.

“We’ve got guys (pitchers) not used to hitting, using different muscles that are sore. They need to get guys out (not get base hits),” said Francona. “I hope at some point someone in baseball will stand up and say this is just not right, hopefully before I’m an old man and getting my pension.

“We’ve got David Ortiz as our DH, (and baseball is) asking us to play a handful of games without him. Every game is important. It doesn’t mean you can’t win, but it makes it harder,” said Francona.

Francona also said that it’s possible Ortiz, who plays first base during interleague games, may sit out a couple of starts this weekend because of his legs (he missed three games last week because of hamstring issues) and because first baseman Kevin Youkilis and third baseman Mike Lowell have been hot, as has Ortiz.

Timlin getting close

Mike Timlin still could be activated this weekend when the Red Sox are in Arizona.

But before he will be added to the Boston roster he is going to have to pitch at least one more time for the Pawtucket Red Sox, Francona said yesterday.

Timlin, who threw two sparkling innings for the PawSox on Monday, will pitch again for the Triple-A team tomorrow in Richmond. If that goes well, Timlin, who has been on the disabled list since May 3 because of right shoulder tendinitis, could be back in Boston’s bullpen this weekend.

The timetable for left-hander Jon Lester isn’t as imminent. Francona said that Lester, who turned in a solid seven-inning complete-game performance for Pawtucket in the first game of a doubleheader on Monday, will start again for the PawSox on Saturday at McCoy Stadium against Ottawa.

Crisp returns

Coco Crisp was back in the starting lineup after being unable to make it to the first pitch on Monday night.

It was announced that night that he was suffering from an upset stomach, but Crisp said yesterday that that wasn’t accurate. Without getting too graphic, he said he was feeling congested, his sinuses giving him trouble and causing him to “dry heave,” which scared the trainers enough to suggest that he not start the game.

“I was all right. He (Francona) had told me to come into his office and tell him (if I needed a day off), but I never did, so this gave him a chance to rest me,” said Crisp, who entered the game as a pinch-runner, scoring the tying run in the ninth and playing the last two innings in center field.

‘Cross-your-fingers’ guy

When Wily Mo Pena plays in the outfield, he’s kind of a “cross-your-fingers” guy.

If a ball is hit to him, you worry about the Red Sox’ fortunes. You hope he’s able to catch the ball, or cut it off, or pick it up without kicking it. But you never know, so you cross your fingers and hope he can make the play cleanly.

When Pena steps into the batter’s box, he’s a “cross-your-fingers” guy, too.

If there’s a right-handed pitcher on the mound and he can throw an off-speed breaking ball, you hope Pena is able to make contact with one of his wild swings because he has such power when he connects.

But you never know, so you cross your fingers and hope the pitcher makes a mistake, because he can crush a mistake nine miles.

There was evidence of all of this in Monday’s 11-inning loss to Oakland.

Pena, who started in center field in place of Crisp, was unable to cut off a ball in the gap, giving Mark Ellis a two-run triple. But he also made a nice play on a long liner to the warning track, taking extra bases away from Bobby Crosby.

At the plate, he fanned his first two times up, waving weakly at Dan Haren’s splitter. But he crushed a hanging splitter for a homer in the seventh and drilled a game-tying single in the ninth.

“I just have to be ready,” said Pena, who was in the starting lineup again last night, in right field.

“I’ve been working hard every day to stay ready. I take fly balls in center some days, in left and right other days. I’m feeling good in the field and at the plate,” said Pena, who has started six of the last eight games.

skrasner@projo.com