PHOENIX, Ariz. — Manny Ramirez, who has played in more games than any of his teammates this season, was not in the Red Sox’ starting lineup last night.

A couple of circumstances played a part in manager Terry Francona’s decision to keep Ramirez on the bench, at least at the outset.

Ramirez, who had played in 59 of the Sox’ first 60 games, was hit on the left wrist by a tailing fastball from Arizona right-hander Edgar Gonzalez in the sixth inning of Friday night’s game at Chase Field. Ramirez fell face-first to the dirt and stayed there for a while before finally popping up and going to first base.

Ramirez played in left field in the bottom of the inning, but was replaced by Eric Hinske for the seventh. Francona said Ramirez’s wrist was sore, but he could have played last night.

Francona, though, has been trying to give every regular a day off from the starting lineup during this seven-game road trip, which followed on the heels of a typically intense three-game set at home against the Yankees, with a tiring West Coast trip added into the mix.

The manager initially was going to rest Ramirez Thursday, the last day of the four-game series in Oakland, but Boston had lost the first three games, so he kept Ramirez in the lineup.

But with Arizona starting a pitcher (Micah Owings) Ramirez wasn’t familiar with, and with his wrist being sore, Francona opted to sit Ramirez last night, replacing him in left with Hinske, while Kevin Youkilis slid into the cleanup spot.

Today David Ortiz will sit against flame-throwing left-hander Randy Johnson, so Francona thought last night would be best for a Ramirez rest, giving the Sox one of their thumpers in each of the final two games of the series.

While Ramirez has not been hitting home runs with his customary frequency (7 this season; zero in his last 57 at-bats), he has been drilling base hits. Since his last homer, on May 22, Ramirez has batted .375 (24 for 64), boosting his average from .244 to a season-high .293. He was available as a pinch hitter.

Romero cut as Timlin is activated

Side-arming left-hander Javier Lopez was sweating things out a bit, knowing the Red Sox were going to activate veteran reliever Mike Timlin in time for last night’s game against the Diamondbacks.

And, as he looked around the bullpen, Lopez was smart enough to realize that he was the only one down there who had options remaining, meaning Boston could send him to Pawtucket without having to make any roster move with a more veteran reliever.

But that didn’t happen. The Sox instead designated left-hander J.C. Romero for assignment after Friday night’s game, sparing Lopez from being shipped back to Pawtucket. That decision was made because Lopez has been doing a solid job in his second stint with the Boston this season.

“Obviously that would have been the easy decision,” said Lopez. “They felt I’ve been contributing, which is a positive thing for me. Hopefully I can take advantage of [being kept on the team].”

Not that Lopez, who is 1-0 with a 3.21 earned-run average, is gloating about his good fortune.

“I’ve been on the other side of this. I’ve been designated. It’s not fun. It’s not easy to take. This was one of those things. We knew Timlin was coming back. We knew they had to do something. But I can’t be too excited at someone else’s misfortunate,” said Lopez, who had been optioned to Pawtucket on April 10 when Timlin had been activated from the disabled list the first time this season.

Romero was 1-0 with one save and a 3.15 E.R.A. in 23 games. Francona said general manager Theo Epstein had been trying to swing a deal for Romero.

“Theo had spoken to some teams but couldn’t get to the finish line so he had to designate him,” said Francona.

The team has 10 days to either trade him or offer him the option of being kept in the organization’s minor-league system, a request Romero would have the option of declining, at which point he would become a free agent.

Francona will try to ease in Timlin

Francona wasn’t sure how he would be using Timlin now that the veteran right-hander has been activated.

It is different this time than when Timlin first left the disabled list and joined the Sox on April 10. He had missed most of spring training back then. This time, he has been working his way back with Pawtucket, noted Francona.

Don’t expect Francona to call him in at the first crucial moment, though.

“It would be nice to give him a little leeway,” said Francona. “But he has been pitching regularly enough [for Pawtucket, on a rehab assignment] so he’s not just feeling his way [like he had been in April]. We’ll use him.”

Pedroia struggling with nosebleeds

Second baseman Dustin Pedroia has been having a problem with persistent nosebleeds lately.

He said yesterday that he woke up Friday morning and realized that he had had a nosebleed during the night, the blood collecting in his chest.

About five minutes before Friday night’s game, Pedroia said, the Diamondbacks’ team physician cauterized his nose. But Pedroia suffered another nosebleed this morning, so he thought he’d have to have it cauterized again.

He thinks it’s a case of allergies that has been causing his problem. Pedroia was not in the starting lineup, but it wasn’t because of his nose issues. Francona opted to start Alex Cora, a left-handed hitter, because Pedroia, a right-handed hitter, will be starting tomorrow against left-hander Randy Johnson.

skrasner@projo.com