More help is on the way for the Red Sox, this time in the form of rookie pitcher Junichi Tazawa and journeyman infielder Chris Woodward.
Tazawa has been been activated from Triple-A Pawtucket while Woodward has been claimed off waivers from Seattle for Friday's game in New York.
Relief pitcher Billy Traber, who ate up 3 2/3 innings in Thursday's 13-6 loss to the Yankees, coughed up five earned runs on nine hits — two of which were home runs.
Tazawa has made two starts for the PawSox since being promoted from Double-A Portland. In 11 1/3 innings with the PawSox, he has allowed three earned runs and struck out six. The 23-year-old right-hander had a 2.57 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 98 innings for Portland.
Woodward has bounced around the majors since 1999, spending his first six seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays before making stops with the Mets and Braves and then landing in Seattle this season. In 20 games so far this year, Woodward has gone 16-for-67 (.239) with seven runs scored and five RBIs. The right-handed hitter is a career .243 hitter with 33 homers and 191 RBIs in 627 games.
