"The Red Sox open the second half of the season against the Rays tomorrow night, but the team will meet up first at Tropicana Field tonight for a workout.

Assessing the beat-up state of the Red Sox rotation will be the first order of business. Before he experienced soreness in his hyperextended knee at the All-Star Game on Tuesday, Josh Beckett was scheduled to fly to his Texas ranch from here and then meet up with the team by tomorrow, skipping the workout.

His injury will not require a trip to Boston, but it remains to be seen whether he will indeed join the team tonight to be checked by the Red Sox traveling medical and training staff.

Beckett said he asked not to pitch in the All-Star Game as more of a precautionary move than anything else, but until he is checked out, his scheduled start in the third game of the Rays series on Sunday is on hold. . . .

Daisuke Matsuzaka, who has been recovering from Tommy John surgery, is expected to make the short trip from Fort Myers, where he has been rehabbing, at some point during the series."