Clay Buchholz to Miss Sunday’s Start With Illness, Aaron Cook Scratched From Pawtucket Start Saturday

With all the injuries and inconsistency that has plagued the Boston Red Sox' starting rotation for the entirety for 2012, seeing Clay Buchholz put up a string of solid starts and look like he was finally coming in to his own was one of the positive stories from the starting five.

Well, with Daniel Bard down in Triple-A and Josh Beckett having made his way to the disabled list, the news that Buchholz would be skipped from his scheduled start on Sunday due to illness is not welcome. Over the course of June, the 27-year-old has gone 4-0, throwing 30 innings in four starts and holding opponents to a paltry .224 batting average. NESN's Didier Morais reported the news of Buchholz being skipped.

The news has also come down that Pawtucket's Aaron Cook has been held out of tonight's scheduled start, as reported by WEEI's Alex Speier. Presumably the move is an indication that Cook is being considered to take Buchholz' place in the rotation for at least one turn.

Cook gave up six earned runs in just 2 2/3 innings in his only start for Boston this year, back on May 5. The 33-year-old right-hander is 3-0 with a 2.41 ERA in six starts for Pawtucket.