Josh Beckett is being skipped in the rotation because of an injury. Erik Bedard has already been skipped in the rotation because of an injury. The Red Sox are hopeful that John Lackey does not join that group.
Lackey left Friday's start against the Tampa Bay Rays after just three innings. Although he was ineffective, giving up five runs, the primary cause for his departure was a line drive off his left calf that has cast a small degree of doubt over his immediate future.
"He got hit pretty good. He got smoked," manager Terry Francona said. "He's pretty sore. Thing swelled up pretty good. We got some ice and compression. Hopefully, we'll sit him down and in a couple of days he can make his next start."
The liner off the bat of John Jaso caught Lackey flush in the lower left leg. He recovered to get Jaso at first to end the third, but Francona didn't want to send Lackey back out there once the leg began to swell.
With the current state of the rotation, it's a guarantee that everything will be done to get Lackey ready for his next outing. Because Beckett (ankle) and Bedard (knee, lat) remain sidelined with no set date for a return, the next four starters after Lackey are Kyle Weiland, Jon Lester, Tim Wakefield and Andrew Miller.
