Shane Victorino set for surgery

Veteran Boston Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino will have back surgery Tuesday in Los Angeles, the team announced.

The procedure will be performed by spine specialist Dr. Robert Watkins.

Victorino, 33, has battled hamstring and back injuries all season for the defending World Series champions, limiting him to just 30 games.

He's had three stints on the 15-day disabled list, the most recent coming Friday after Victorino complained of continued tightness in his back.

An MRI indicated Victorino might need surgery, and Watkins' second opinion confirmed as much.

"I want to know what's going on," Victorino said last week. "Anytime you get news you don't want to hear, you obviously want to see what's going to happen. For me, it's never good, but it's all part of it. I tried to play through it. I tried to do the best I can, the training staff did the best they could to get me back out there, but things were showing [with the MRI] that there might be some things that we didn't want to see. We'll go from there."

The Gold Glove defender has started only 28 games. He has posted a .268/.303/.382 slash line in limited action, hitting two home runs and stealing two bases.

Information from ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes was used in this report.