The Boston Red Sox were pummeled by the Tampa Bay Rays 11-2 on a gloomy Mother’s Day at Fenway Park. But that wasn’t the only loss for the Red Sox on Sunday afternoon.
Boston starter Drew Pomeranz was forced to exit the game after just three innings due to triceps tightness. Pomeranz actually went out for the fourth inning, but his arm discomfort during warmup pitches prompted Red Sox manager John Farrell to pull the left-hander from the game to avoid further injury.
After the game, Farrell addressed Pomeranz’s injury, which he didn’t think was too serious.
“He’ll go through some imaging tomorrow, just precautionary,” Farrell said, as seen on NESN’s Red Sox postgame coverage. “We’ll see what transpires tomorrow, but we don’t see this as something long term.”
The Red Sox can ill-afford another serious injury to an already hobbled starting rotation. Steven Wright will be sidelined for the season following knee surgery, while David Price still is working his way back from an elbow injury.
Thanks to a couple days off, Boston was able to ride a four-man rotation for a brief stretch. But with 20 games in 21 days starting Tuesday, Farrell knows he’ll need a fifth starter moving forward.
“We’re going to take the next couple of days to make sure who that starter is,” Farrell said. “We know we’re going to need someone from (Triple-A) Pawtucket to be that fifth starter.”
We’ll have to wait and see which pitcher from the minor leagues joins the Red Sox in the coming days.
Here are some other notes from Red Sox-Rays.
— At four hours and 32 minutes, Sunday’s ballgame was Boston’s longest of the season. The previous long was three hours and 53 minutes in a game which went extra innings.
— Price was scheduled to make his first minor league rehab start for Triple-A Pawtucket on Sunday, but the game was rained out. Price now is scheduled to start May 19.
— Xander Bogaerts brought in Boston’s first run with a first-inning double. The Red Sox shortstop has six two-baggers in his last eight games.
— Dustin Pedroia reached base with single and a walk Sunday. The veteran second baseman has reached base two-plus times in 20 games this season, which leads the Red Sox.
— Christian Vazquez was the only Boston hitter to record a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4. The Red Sox catcher seems to be at his best when the sun’s up, as he currently has a .391 batting average in day games.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
