Middlebrooks (hand) remains out of the lineup Friday against the Yankees, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports. Middlebrooks is set to miss a fourth straight start due to right hand soreness, but the Red Sox remain hopeful that he will return to the lineup before the end of the season. The hand has presented issues on and off this season, but manager John Farrell suggested he doesn't think that Middlebrooks' struggles can be attributed solely to the injury. "I don't think he's been limited any different than any other players who deal with nagging ailments over the course of a full season," Farrell said.