RED SOX NOTEBOOK: Betts, Pedroia still out

Mookie Betts, placed on the DL, and Dustin Pedroia, sore knee, were both out of the Red Sox lineup for the second straight night against the Astros.

HOUSTON -- There was pregame disappointment for both Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia on Friday.

Betts (left abdominal strain) was placed on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to Tuesday and Pedroia missed his second straight game against the Astros.

Betts was due to sit out his sixth straight game, reduced to hitting off a tee during Thursday’s 4-2 loss to Houston. He was a last-minute scratch prior to a Sunday’s 7-1 defeat against the Braves and hadn’t played since. Betts was on the field Tuesday at Fenway Park and again here on Thursday, being put through a battery of tests and baseball activities by the Boston coaching and medical staffs.

“You’ve got to trust the player,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “That’s the most important thing. With Mookie, we trusted him a few times early in the season. When he said he was going to be ready, he was ready.”

Betts leads the big leagues in several offensive categories, including batting average (.359), slugging percentage (.750) and OPS (1.187). His 17 home runs still rank second in baseball despite appearing in just 48 of Boston’s first 57 games.

The Red Sox announced a corresponding move would be made prior to Saturday’s game against Houston. The options at Triple-A Pawtucket appear to be thin, with Tzu-Wei Lin’s .789 OPS topping the club. Outfielders Aneury Tavarez (.644), Ramon Flores (.632) and recent Double-A promotion Cole Sturgeon (.626) have all scuffled and Rusney Castillo isn’t an option due to the $11.8 million he would add to Boston’s payroll.

Pedroia didn’t perform any baseball activities on Friday after his late Thursday scratch. He felt pain in his surgically repaired left knee prior to the 4-2 loss to Houston in the series opener and alerted Red Sox medical staff.

“They said make sure you’re honest,” Pedroia said following Thursday’s game. “They said there are going to be days where you feel terrible. I started laughing. I said, ‘No way.’ But it does. That’s a part of it.”

“Yesterday he was down, and not only physically,” Cora said. “You could see it. For everything he went through in the rehab and how good he was feeling, that happens.”

Pedroia is unlikely to return on Saturday against the Astros, making Sunday night’s series finale the only realistic chance to make his 2018 road debut on this trip.

Severing ties: The latest Hanley Ramirez chapter with the Red Sox came to an official end on Friday.

Boston granted the first baseman his unconditional release, making him available to sign with any major league club. The Red Sox found no trade partners to take on Ramirez for the remainder of the 2018 season and owe the balance of the roughly $15 million left on the four-year free agent deal he signed prior to 2015.

It wasn’t expected that Boston or any other team would accommodate Ramirez under the terms of his existing contract. He was 302 plate appearances away from reaching a $22-million vesting option for 2019, and operating as an everyday player would have him approaching that mark by September. The Red Sox dismissed the idea of using Ramirez in a platoon or bench role, opening up regular playing time for Mitch Moreland at first base and granting additional at-bats to Blake Swihart in a utility role.

Hoop fans: Like any other casual sports fans, Boston players and staff huddled around clubhouse televisions to watch the final moments of Thursday’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

There were audible gasps when Cleveland’s J.R. Smith mistakenly dribbled out the clock at the end of regulation, believing his team had the lead. There were knowing nods when Steph Curry and Golden State took command in overtime, jumping ahead in their best-of-seven series thanks to a 124-114 win.

The question lingered along with the surprise – how could Smith make such a mistake in a key spot? The answer was a somewhat empathetic one from players who one day could forget the count at the plate or the number of outs in the field in a high stakes game.

“We’re human,” Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. said. “We’re no different than you.”