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Off The DL: Victorino To Bat 2nd, Play Right Field In Finale vs. Yankees

BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Red Sox outfield is about to get a boost, and hopefully every little thing is gonna be alright.

Shane Victorino will be activated from the disabled list on Thursday, and will roam the difficult right field in Fenway Park as Boston closes out a three-game series with the New York Yankees on Thursday.

Victorino will also bat second in the series finale:

Victorino, who started the season on the disabled list after injuring his hamstring in the team's final game of spring training, went 1-for-11 with the Pawtucket Red Sox over a three-game rehab assignment earlier this week. Boston has not only missed his presence in the top of the order, but his defense in the outfield. The Red Sox currently rank 29th in defensive efficiency, with a revolving door of Grady Sizemore, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Daniel Nava struggling in right.

Nava was sent down to Triple-A Pawtucket on Wednesday.

The 33-year-old Victorino battled various injuries in 2013, but still put together a solid season overall. He missed a handful of games last April with a lower back injury and landed on the DL in May with a left hamstring issue, and both injuries lingered throughout the season. But Victorino battled through to play 122 games, hitting .294 with 15 homers, 61 RBI and 82 runs scored, and winning a Gold Glove for his stellar defense in right.

Victorino hit just .212 during the postseason, but played a very pivotal role to Boston's World Series Championship. He hit .429 in the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays, and despite hitting just .125 in the ALCS against the Detroit Tigers, Victorino delivered the knock-out blow with a decisive grand slam in Boston's Game 6 series-clinching victory.

Victorino, a career .277 hitter, is entering the second year of a three-year, $39 million he signed with Boston last off-season.

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