FORT MYERS, Fla. — Boston Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford will be shut down this week to let his left wrist heal and it’s unlikely he’ll be ready to play by opening day.

Red Sox Manager Bobby Valentine said Monday that Crawford would held out for five to seven days because inflammation. Crawford had surgery on his wrist in mid-January.

Additional Photos

David Ortiz is all smiles, as usual, after hitting a home run in Monday’s night’s exhibition game with the Twins at Fort Myers, Fla. The Sox won 10-2 as Clay Buchholz pitched two hitless innings. The Associated Press

Coming off a disappointing season, Crawford was an early arrival at spring training this year. He had been throwing and swinging a bat but had to limit his activities last week after he developed soreness in his wrist.

“He was examined and determined that he should curtail his swinging and his throwing,” Valentine said.

The Red Sox begin the season April 5 at Detroit.

“The opening day thing is probably not realistic,” Valentine said. “It’s not the calendar. He’ll be ready when he’s ready.

“As we talked about before he got here, and we’ve reiterated that Carl loves to do a lot of stuff and it’s probably not in his best interest at this time to overdo it. It’s more work than his wrist needs at this time.”

Crawford had career lows with a .255 batting average and 18 stolen bases in 2011, the first season of his seven-year, $142 million with Boston.

• Clay Buchholz pitched two hitless innings, David Ortiz homered and the Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 10-2.

Buchholz, who missed much of last season with a stress fracture in his back, struck out two and walked two.

Jason Marquis struggled in his debut for Minnesota, allowing four runs in 12/3 innings.

Boston scored four times in the second and led 5-0 after three. Backup catcher Daniel Butler added a three-run homer in the seventh inning.

Joe Mauer went 2 for 3 with an RBI for Minnesota.

TIGERS: AL MVP Justin Verlander picked up where he left off last season, pitching two scoreless innings in his spring training debut as the Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 at Lakeland, Fla.

Verlander gave up one hit, struck out one and faced six batters, and said he felt ready for another inning.

ANGELS: Albert Pujols went 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI in his spring debut and Los Angeles beat an Oakland Athletics split squad 9-1.

Pujols, who signed a 10-year, $254 million free-agent contract in the offseason, drove in a run with a double down the left-field line in the first, hit a sharp single to left in the second and popped up with the bases loaded in the third.

Manny Ramirez went 0 for 3 and is hitless in five plate appearances for the A’s.

FORMER METS outfielder Lenny Dykstra was sentenced to three years in a California state prison after pleading no contest to grand theft auto and providing a false financial statement.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Cynthia Ulfig sentenced Dykstra after refusing to allow him to withdraw his plea and said the scam to lease high-end automobiles from dealerships by providing fraudulent information and claiming credit through a phony business showed sophistication and extensive planning.

“He obviously didn’t have the money to get the vehicles,” Ulfig said. “His conduct was indeed criminal.”

PIRATES: A person close to the situation says Pittsburgh is closing in on a new contract with All-Star center fielder Andrew McCutchen.

The proposed six-year, $51.5 million deal would keep McCutchen with the Pirates through the 2017 season with a club option for 2018.

PHILLIES: Right-hander Joe Blanton threw two shutout innings and third baseman Placido Polanco drove home the game’s first run as Philadelphia beat the Yankees at Clearwater, Fla.

Michael Pineda, the 23-year-old right-hander, traded from Seattle to New York, held the Phillies to one hit in two shutout innings.

DON MINCHER, who spent 13 years in the majors, died in Huntsville, Ala., after a long illness. He was 73.

He played for the 1972 World Series champion Oakland Athletics and had stints with the Minnesota Twins, California Angels, Texas Rangers, Seattle Pilots and Washington Senators.

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