BOSTON -- Craig Kimbrel was supposed to spend Monday soaking in the All-Star festivities in San Diego.Instead, the Boston Red Sox closer will be in a hospital.Kimbrel will undergo surgery to repair a medial meniscus tear in his left knee and is expected to miss three to six weeks, the Red Sox announced Saturday. In his absence, Koji Uehara will be the Soxs primary closer, manager John Farrell said, with newly acquired reliever Brad Ziegler getting save opportunities when the 41-year-old Uehara is unavailable.Its the first time Ive been on the DL in my career, so its obviously frustrating, said Kimbrel, who has a 3.55 ERA and 17 saves in 34 appearances. Im kind of glad its nothing too serious. Its something that I feel like we can go in, get it scoped out, get it cleaned out.Theyre saying three to six weeks. Lets hope its more on the three-week side, if not a little faster than that.Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Aaron Sanchez was chosen Saturday to replace Kimbrel, a five-time All-Star selection, on the American League All-Star roster.Regardless, it was convenient the Red Sox were already looking for another late-inning reliever before Kimbrel got injured. Early Saturday morning, they acquired Ziegler from the Arizona Diamondbacks for a pair of Single-A players. The timing of the trade was coincidental, according to president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who said he had been talking to Arizona general manager Dave Stewart for several weeks.Ziegler, a 36-year-old right-hander with a submarine delivery, has a 2.82 ERA and 18 saves in 36 appearances for the Diamondbacks. Once Kimbrel is healthy, Ziegler figures to take over the tough-on-righties setup role vacated when Carson Smith was lost to Tommy John elbow surgery in May.I think I made a comment to our own people that itd be nice to get this done today because, with the Kimbrel situation, the timing would work out. But it really was just a coincidence -- a good coincidence to get him and bring him in here at this time, Dombrowski said.Zieglers an established big-league pitcher at the back end of the pen. Hes a different-look guy for us. Hes a guy that doesnt throw hard but is a ground-ball machine.Kimbrel said he took a step to field a ground ball in the outfield during batting practice Friday and heard a pop in his knee. He went for an MRI exam that revealed the torn cartilage.Initially, the Red Sox medical staff held out hope that Kimbrel might be able to avoid surgery. Moreover, Kimbrel suggested he would be able to pitch through the pain.It was apparent to me in talking to Craig after [Friday nights] game and getting the medical information, this is not something you want to take a chance on, Dombrowski said. You dont want Craig Kimbrel to go out there and alter his delivery and be in a position where he hurts his knee more but also hurt his arm.Said Kimbrel: I felt like I could go out there and pitch and kind of go through the pain. What it is, its something that I wouldnt say is structural. Looking where we are in the season and what could come of it going out there and trying to pitch through it, it might change my mechanics or put more stress on my arm. Were just looking to take the safe route on this.Kimbrel is the second Red Sox pitcher this season to get injury while retrieving a ball in batting practice, a routine that he and many other pitchers use as a cardiovascular exercise. Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez also injured his knee during a spring-training incident.Farrell said the team doesnt have any plans to alter their pitchers pregame routines,This is an anomaly, Farrell said. This is what our players go through normally, day-in, day-out, traditionally in the game. We cant put guys in bubbles. You get a little bit of a change in direction, and this is what happens. Unfortunately, in Craigs case were going to miss him for a little bit.Ziegler is scheduled to arrive at Fenway Park midway through Saturdays game and wont be activated until Sunday. Until then, right-hander Noe Ramirez was called up from Triple-A Pawtucket to take Kimbrels spot on the roster.The Red Sox also activated newly acquired utility man Michael Martinez and optioned rookie infielder Marco Hernandez to Triple-A. Martinez was obtained Friday from the Cleveland Indians for cash considerations. Wholesale Jerseys .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. 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SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Jazz challenged Gordon Hayward to push his game even further last summer and become a more versatile scorer. The Jazz are seeing those results on a nightly basis through the first quarter of the season.Hayward matched his season high with 32 points and the Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets 105-98 on Saturday night.We talked about this early in the season. We felt like hed expanded his game, Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. He added a comfort-level in the post. ... And hes shooting off screens. Hes able to score in multiple ways.When someone takes something away, hes able to have another option. The biggest thing Gordons been doing is defending and, as a result, hes getting some easy baskets.The Jazz used a 31-8 stretch in the third quarter to blow open the game. Hayward took over, scoring both inside and on the perimeter, with 21 points in the quarter. It was the third consecutive 30-point game for the seven-year veteran, who is averaging a career-high 22.8 points and has scored 20-plus points in 11 of 14 games this season. This is the first three-game, 30-point stretch of Haywards career.Its a lot of work that I put in this summer, for sure, Hayward said. But, also, were running some good sets for me. ... Just continuing to see the floor a lot better. Seeing where my shots are coming. Taking advantage of how the defense is guarding me. ... Just trusting the work that I did.When Im active and play with a little bounce on the defensive end, Im definitely more confident offensively because of that. Its all about staying active and getting myself involved in the game.Rodney Hood chipped in 15 for the Jazz.Wilson Chandler and Will Barton each scored 20 for Denver.Denver knocked down seven 3-pointers trying to rally in the fourth quarter, but couldnt complete the comeback. The Nuggets matched a season high with 13 3-pointers.The Jazz took a 49-47 lead into halftime after a back-and-forth opening 24 minutes in which neither team was able to string together a significant run.dddddddddddd. Neither team shot the ball well from distance in the first half as the two teams were a combined 4 for 15 from behind the arc.Im happy we showed a lot of fight and heart getting back in the game, not dropping our heads and feeling sorry for ourselves, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. Hopefully, that can give us a little juice going forward.Im just really happy with the fact we competed tonight. Thats step No. 1 in our recovery.TIP-INSNuggets: Nikola Jokic missed his second straight game with a left wrist sprain. ... Denver is now 0-8 when trailing after the third quarter. ... The Nuggets have won just one road game since Nov. 6.Jazz: Hood returned to the starting lineup after missing the last game with a hamstring injury. He went down hard in the third quarter and limped to the bench, but stayed in the game. ... George Hill missed his second consecutive game with a sprained left big toe.TOUGH TIMESThe Nuggets have lost five of six with a lengthy road trip ahead. Malone is not thrilled with the state of his team.Right now, I am living minute-by-minute, day-by-day, Malone said. We arent playing good basketball right now. Its no secret. Our defense is evaporating rapidly.QUOTABLEWe started out in the first half doing all the right things, Chandler said. It was in the third quarter we kind of got away from that. Everybody, not just one person. We had to climb uphill and exert so much energy. Its hard to fight back from a 20-point deficit and get the win.UP NEXTNuggets: Denver visits Philadelphia on Monday for the second game of a six-game trip.Jazz: Utah travels to face the Los Angeles Lakers and No. 2 overall pick Brandon Ingram on Monday. ' ' '