CHICAGO -- A few quick hits from the Cell, where the best thing that can be said in advance of Thursday night's game between the Red Sox and White Sox is that there is no way it can be worse than Wednesday night's 5 hour-and-17 minute abomination:
• Closer Koji Uehara, who has not pitched since last Wednesday against the Rangers because of stiffness in the back of his right shoulder, is available to close Thursday, manager John Farrell said.
• Outfielder Shane Victorino will work out with the Red Sox upon the team's return to Boston on Friday, Farrell said, and the plan is for him to head out on a three-game rehab assignment, most likely in Pawtucket. The plan is for Victorino to play Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, and at that point the team will decide whether to activate him. There is a chance Victorino will be back before the end of the Yankees' series. Pawtucket does not play this Sunday because of Easter; the PawSox will have a doubleheader Saturday.
• Infielder Will Middlebrooks, who is eligible to come off the DL on Sunday but has yet to go out on rehab assignment, was sent back to Boston Thursday with a 102 degree temperature and other flu-like symptoms, Farrell said.
• Farrell said he had spoken with Xander Bogaerts regarding his Twitter account, which the 21-year-old rookie shut down after Wednesday night tweeting a picture of a young woman taking a selfie while posing provocatively in front of what appeared to be a hotel bathroom mirror.
"We're confident it was one-time mistake," said Farrell, who termed the incident "unfortunate" but said Bogaerts had acknowledged it and "learned from it."
• Left-handed reliever Chris Capuano, the West Springfield native who earned his first win with the Red Sox with 2 2/3 innings relief Wednesday night, is not available to pitch Thursday night after appearing in each of the first two games here. It was the first time in Capuano's career that he had pitched on back-to-back days.
Capuano, signed after veteran Ryan Dempster announced he would not pitch in 2014, has been unscored upon in his first seven appearances out of the Sox pen. In six of those appearances, the score was either tied or the Sox were either a run ahead or behind. In nine innings, he has allowed just five hits and a walk while striking out eight.
"We had every intention of getting him out after the second inning, but he was adamant -- he wanted to stay in," Farrell said of the 36-year-old left-hander. "He's given us such dependability in a short time down there, with his strike-throwing, and he's able to get right-handed hitters and left-handers out with equal success. He's added to the overall depth of the bullpen. He's been very good.
"The biggest thing is his ability to throw multiple pitches, he and [Craig Breslow] are similar in that they take a starter's approach and use a number of different type of pitches. They've been dependable."