Pittsburgh (KDKA)- The Pirates are enjoying an off-day today following their 5-4 comeback win over the Baltimore Orioles.

The Bucs open up a 3-game series Friday night vs. the Boston Red Sox.

Here are some Pirates News & Notes:
*Red Sox manager Terry Francona is saying that RHP Josh Beckett, who missed yesterday’s start, may also miss Saturday’s start vs. the Bucs because of the flu. Becket is 6-2 with a 1.86 ERA in 14 starts.

*The tentative pitching matchup for the 3-game series is: Jon Lester vs. Paul Maholm (Friday), Josh Beckett vs. Jeff Karstens (Saturday) and Tim Wakefield vs. James McDonald (Sunday).

*The Pirates have demoted struggling outfielder Andrew Lambo from Indianapolis to Altoona. The 23-year-old outfielder was hitting only .184 with 3 HR’s, 17 RBI in 185 at-bats. Lambo came to the Pirates with James McDonald from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Octavio Dotel.

*Manager Clint Hurdle announced that he benched Ronny Cedeno for a bad decision he made Tuesday night. Hurdle didn’t like that Cedeno attempted to bunt with the bases loaded with only 1 out. In talking about siting Cedeno, Hurdle said, “The manager picked a day off for Ronny,” Hurdle said. [It's a] good day to regain focus.” It’s the second time this season that Hurdle has benched Cedeno.

*All active and retired members of the military are invited to pick up as many as four complimentary tickets to the Pirates’ July 4 home game against the Astros. Members of the military will also be honored during an on-field ceremony prior to the game. Go to http://www.pirates.com/usa for more information on how to request tickets.

*Joel Hanraham got his 20th save yesterday in PGH’s 74th game, the fewest games any Pirates pitcher has needed to get 20 saves.