"Kevin Youkilis had a rough first inning last night.

Youkilis, the Red Sox' cleanup-hitting third baseman, bounced into a rally-killing double play against Angels starter Tyler Chatwood. And if that wasn't enough, he had fouled a pitch off his left shin and was forced to leave the game in the top of the second inning.

The Red Sox didn't have an update on his status during last night's series opener.

Youkilis is batting only .214, but he has reached base in 14 of his last 18 games. He has 10 hits in his last 36 at-bats and homered in Wednesday's series finale against the Oakland Athletics. Jed Lowrie moved to third base and Marco Scutaro came off the bench to play shortstop.

It almost got worse for the Red Sox. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia came up limping after stealing second in the third inning. Pedroia appeared to jam the bag with his left foot, on which he underwent surgery last year to repair a fracture. But after being checked out by athletic trainer Mike Reinold and manager Terry Francona, he remained in the game, finishing with three hits and a run scored."