Another Red Sox Player headed to the DL

[Chrispy]

BOSTON -- Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz will not make a start in Boston's upcoming series at Tampa and likely will end up on the disabled list in the coming days.

Buchholz strained his left hamstring June 26 in San Francisco. Manager Terry Francona and the team's medical staff said Sunday it probably makes sense to rest Buchholz until after the All-Star break, which begins July 12.

Buchholz was originally scheduled to start either Monday or Tuesday in Tampa, but that's been put on hold because he's not 100 percent. Buchholz threw on flat ground again on Sunday and will have a "real active" day when the team arrives in Tampa.

As a result, Daisuke Matsuzaka will start on Monday and Tim Wakefield will get the nod on Wednesday against the Rays. Tuesday's starter is undecided and the club will likely make a roster move to fill that spot. Felix Doubront, who made his big league debut in a spot start June 18, allowing three earned runs in five-plus innings in a 10-6 win over the Dodgers, might be promoted from Triple-A.

The depleted Red Sox already have eight members of their big-league roster on the disabled list: Dustin Pedroia (foot), Victor Martinez (thumb), Manny Delcarmen (forearm), Jason Varitek (foot), Josh Beckett (back), Jacoby Ellsbury (ribs), Jeremy Hermida (ribs) and Mike Lowelll (hip).

Buchholz has not yet thrown a bullpen session since injuring his hamstring, but he has been playing catch on flat ground. The injury doesn't really impact him when throwing, but his ability to cover first base and run has been hampered.

"Since we've waited this long, if we DL him we can bring him back right after the break," Francona said. "That's not etched in stone, but it seems like it makes common sense."

Buchholz, who was named to his first All-Star team on Sunday, is 10-4 with a 2.45 ERA.

"Going from a jog to a sprint, it was a little tight," said Buchholz. "We stepped back a little bit. I'm still throwing flat-grounds every day, and that feels fine. I'm just giving it a little more time to rehab and get it to work so it's not going to be a problem going into my next start. That's the best thing we can do, not go into it 75 percent, but go into it 100 percent."

"Everything has been in a controlled environment so far with him and there's some concern if he gets in a game and needs to cover first or needs to do something that's unexpected, if he worsens that hamstring we're all going to be kicking ourselves," Francona said.

Joe McDonald covers the Red Sox and Bruins for ESPNBoston.com.

http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/mlb/news/story?id=5354317

How many does that make it? 10?

 

[USCChifan]

That's 11 now. How the Red Sox are contending w/ so many players on the DL is baffling to me.

 

[Swarley]

Pedroia, Martinez, Beckett, Ellsbury, Hermida, Lowell, Lowrie, Delcarmen, Varitek, Buchholz.

It's definitely baffled my mind as to how we are still up there at the top of the league.

 

[Swarley]

Dropping like flies. Just have to wait for the injuries to catch up and the Yankees should be able to pull away.

We shall see about that, Sox get a few of those players back this month.

At the very least, should be Beckett, V-Mart, and Jacoby.

 

[USCChifan]

The Red Sox are lucky as hell w/ Nava and McDonald producing

 

[Chrispy]

Youkilis leaves game with ankle pain

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis abruptly left Tuesday night's game prior to leading off the fourth inning with what the team called right ankle pain.

Youkilis, who had batted once in the game and grounded to short, was preparing to bat against Rays starter Jeff Niemann when he stepped out of the batter's box, testing his right foot. He eventually dropped to the ground and was attended to by assistant trainer Greg Barajas, who massaged the area around Youkilis' right ankle before the decision was made to remove him from the game.

Niuman Romero batted for Youkilis and grounded to short. The 25-year-old Romero has played one big-league game at first base, last season for Cleveland, and had 26 starts at first in the minors.

The Red Sox acquired the Venezuelan Romero from the Indians for cash considerations on May 1. He was called up by the Red Sox on July 2, after Angel Sanchez was traded to Houston for Kevin Cash.

The Red Sox currently have 11 players on the disabled list, including Junichi Tazawa and Jed Lowrie. Nine players who started the season on the 25-man roster are currently on the DL.

Gordon Edes covers the Red Sox for ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter.

http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/mlb/news/story?id=5359363