"The Red Sox outfield, especially the left field position, is going to be in a state of flux well into July after Carl Crawford went on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring yesterday.

Darnell McDonald was in left field last night, but for the next few weeks, matchups, who's hot, who's not and any number of variables could come into play when manager Terry Francona decides whom to play there. Besides McDonald, options include left-handed hitting Josh Reddick (whom the Sox recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket to replace Crawford), Mike Cameron (who played right field last night) and Drew Sutton.

"We'll piece it together," Francona said.

Crawford hurt himself while beating out an infield single in the first inning Friday night. An MRI was taken while the game was still in progress and a Grade 1 (least serious) strain was quickly determined. Because Crawford relies on speed so much for his all-around game, when the doctors determined that he would be out, best case, 10-14 days, the decision to put him on the DL was a "no-brainer," according to Francona.

Crawford said last night that his leg was "really sore," but added that he hoped to be ready to play as soon as he is eligible, which would be the final game of the series in his hometown, Houston, on July 3.

"Definitely wouldn't want to miss that series — we'll be cutting it close, that's for sure," said Crawford, who acknowledged that he still did not want to rush things. "Hamstrings, you don't want to mess around with that. You see a lot of guys try to come back too early and then they mess it up and they end up being out even longer. We just want to be sure when I come back, I stay there.""