Boston's Youkilis placed on DL

Kansas City, MO – Boston Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis day disabled list on Thursday with a back injury.

The injury has been plaguing Youkilis for the past several days and he has just five hits in his past 32 at-bats dating back to August 4.

On the season, the 32-year-old is batting .266 with 17 homers and 78 RBI over 110 games.

To take his spot on the roster, the team recalled catcher Ryan Lavarnway from Triple-A Pawtucket. Between Double-A Portland and Pawtucket, he has hit 30 home runs along with 85 RBI to go with a .293 average.