CHICAGO (AP) — Boston Red Sox right-hander Josh Beckett will miss his next start because of inflammation in his right shoulder.

He was scheduled to pitch Sunday against the Chicago Cubs. Manager Bobby Valentine says Beckett will remain on the roster “for now” but might undergo tests this weekend.

Valentine spoke after Friday’s 3-0 loss to the Cubs.

He says Beckett is “not quite recovering on a five-day rotation.”

The 32-year-old has lost three consecutive starts and is 4-7 with a 4.14 ERA.

Left-hander Franklin Morales will start in Beckett’s place. He has a 3.04 ERA in 22 relief appearances this season.

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OAKLAND, Calif. — Manny Ramirez is a free agent again after he asked the Oakland Athletics to release him and the team granted his request.

Ramirez signed a minor league deal with Oakland on Feb. 20 and hit .302 with 14 RBIs in 17 games with Triple-A Sacramento.

He served a 50-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s drug policy last year, but remained in the minors when the ban ended on May 30.

Ramirez was expected to make approximately $500,000 if he was added to Oakland’s big league roster.

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NEW YORK — Nice try, Mets. It’s not a no-hitter.

Major League Baseball denied the team’s appeal of an official scoring decision during R.A. Dickey’s one-hitter at Tampa Bay.

The knuckleballer allowed only an infield single Wednesday night, and New York asked the commissioner’s office to review the play and consider whether third baseman David Wright should have been charged with an error on B.J. Upton’s hit.

The Mets said Friday the appeal was turned down, just as they expected.

“Just took a shot at it,” manager Terry Collins said. “Thought R.A. deserved a shot. It was no slam at David.”

Dickey did not ask the Mets to appeal, but said he appreciated the gesture.

“I’m fairly relieved that it ended up the way it did,” said Dickey, explaining that there would have been “an asterisk by it bigger than the no-hitter itself.”

The speedy Upton hit a high bouncer in the first inning that Wright was unable to field with his bare hand. The play was ruled a hit, and after the game Collins said the Mets would appeal.

MLB can overturn official scoring decisions if it believes a mistake was made.

A ruling in their favor could have given the Mets their second no-hitter in two weeks — albeit an awkward one — after going more than 50 seasons without one. Johan Santana held St. Louis hitless on June 1, the first no-hitter in the franchise’s 51-year history.

“We took advantage of the process,” Collins said. “You can do it, so we gave it a shot. We didn’t win it. We didn’t expect to win it. Just gave it a try. If we had won it, we’ve got another no-hitter. We don’t have to wait another 50 years.”