Ortiz, who started at first base Saturday, was pulled after three at-bats due to general stiffness, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports.

EDGE Analysis

The Red Sox have famously not asked Ortiz to play in the field this season, a nod to an assortment of lower leg and ankle issues, but he was on the field Saturday as Red Sox manager John Farrell tried to get four at-bats out of the 40-year-old DH instead of a random pinch-hit appearance. Despite a couple of nice fielding plays, the plan was aborted after six innings. "He started to stiffen up overall - first time he's been on the field in nearly a year," said Farrell. Ortiz says he's fine, but the Red Sox avoided a potential disaster. With three more games in a National League park later this month, when Boston is at San Diego, it will be interesting to see if Farrell makes the same gamble.

Ortiz will start at first base in Saturday's game against the Dodgers, according to Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald.

EDGE Analysis

The Red Sox have avoided using Ortiz in the field since August 30 of last year, but with the team playing in an NL park and having an off day Monday, manager John Farrell will give him the nod at first base Saturday in order to prevent him from not starting for four days in a row. Ortiz hit third in his last start Thursday, but he will hit cleanup Saturday as he has done regularly this season.

Oritz is expected to start at first base Saturday, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.

EDGE Analysis

The plan all season has been to limit Ortiz to designated-hitter duties due to assorted calf, heel and ankle issues, but manager John Farrell said the 40-year-old slugger is willing to get on the field and the team's medical staff signed off on the move. Ortiz, who took grounders before Friday's game, has not played in the field since August of 2015. He'll get to face rookie right-hander Ross Stripling, something that also factored into the decision to start him Saturday.

Ortiz is out of the lineup for Friday's Game-1 matchup with the Dodgers, Mike DiGiovanni of the Los Angeles Times reports.

EDGE Analysis

As expected, Ortiz is being held out of the lineup in an NL ballpark as Hanley Ramirez returns to the lineup at first base while batting fourth. It's likely Ortiz will miss the entire three-game series as he's yet to play in the field in all of the 2016 season. The 40-year-old MVP candidate figures to return to the DH hole when the Red Sox begin a series with the Yankees on Tuesday.

Ortiz is not expected to start at first base in any of the team's three games in Los Angeles this weekend, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports.

EDGE Analysis

Manager John Farrell has not played Ortiz in the field at all in his age-40 season and it doesn't sound like the skipper has any intention of doing so, even in a fairly significant series against the Dodgers as the Red Sox look to keep pace in the AL East. After this weekend's set, Boston will have one more road interleague series next month (at San Diego).

Ortiz is not in the lineup for Saturday's tilt with the Angels, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports.

EDGE Analysis

With left-hander Hector Santiago on the mound for the Angels on Saturday, Ortiz is getting a routine day off as Hanley Ramirez replaces him in the DH hole, batting fifth. Ortiz continues to be a beast at the plate, connecting for three homers and 13 RBI in 13 games since the All-star break. He'll likely return to the lineup for the series finale Sunday.

Ortiz is tentatively scheduled for day off Saturday, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.

EDGE Analysis

Ortiz gets a day off against a left-hander as Red Sox manager John Farrell looks to get the 40-year-old slugger a breather in order to extract the most out of him in the final two months of the season. Hanley Ramirez will start at DH, with Travis Shaw playing first base and Aaron Hill starting at third. And while on the topic of giving Ortiz rest, Boston has a series coming up against the Dodgers in Los Angeles next weekend, so there will likely be multiple days off between Aug. 5 and 7.

Ortiz will likely sit out one game this weekend, Scott Lauber of ESPN.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

The Angels are trotting out back-to-back lefties Saturday and Sunday (Hector Santiago and Tyler Skaggs, respectively), and it sounds like manager John Farrell will take the opportunity to get the 40-year-old Ortiz a breather. Ortiz just had day off last weekend, but of course he didn't really have much of an All-Star break and the Red Sox want to be sure he's at full strength for the stretch run.

Ortiz hit a three-run homer, his 25th, in a 1-for-5 game in Tuesday's loss to Detroit.

EDGE Analysis

Ortiz has been a slugging machine all month, as this marks his seventh home run and 11th extra-base hit in 19 games. He's hitting a robust .301/.369/.644 in July -- actually slightly worse than his .328/.418/.666 overall line, as he has been consistently excellent all season long in his farewell campaign.

Ortiz is not Sunday's starting lineup, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reports.

EDGE Analysis

Hanley Ramirez will slot in at designated hitter and bat cleanup for Boston, while Travis Shaw takes over at first base.