Red Sox To Skip Nathan Eovaldi’s Turn In Rotation, Start Josh Winckowski

Even when things are going good for the Boston Red Sox, there always seems to be a portion of adversity around the corner.

Coming off a third-consecutive series win, Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced the team would skip starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi’s next turn in the rotation, opting to start rookie Josh Winckowski instead in Thursday’s series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Eovaldi said he’s dealing with a trapezius issue, but the 32-year-old doesn’t expect it to keep him out long-term.

“I feel like I could pitch tomorrow, but we’re playing it safe,” Eovaldi said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “Just going to skip this turn and be ready to go Tuesday against Toronto. I feel like I could pitch, but we don’t know how I’ll rebound afterward. So, we’re just trying to be cautious right now.

Eovaldi added: “I’ve been feeling really good, and again, I’m treating it almost as a blow. I’ll be ready to go for Tuesday. I feel really good about where we’ve been going with my mechanics. (Velocity) has been picking back up. Like I said, I’ve been feeling good and I want to start tomorrow, but we’re just going to play it safe.”

Eovaldi didn’t show signs of injury in his most recent start, a six-inning performance against the New York Yankees where he allowed just two runs in a walk-off win. The veteran right-hander has a 4.15 ERA in 18 starts this season.

Filling in for Eovaldi will be the aforementioned Winckowski. The 24-year-old has been on a strong run as of late, going 2-0 over his last three starts with a 3.45 ERA. The rookie has made 11 starts on the season for Boston and has a ERA of 4.69 over 55 2/3 innings pitched.

Winckowski will take the mound vying for the Red Sox’s first multi-game series sweep since June 26. First pitch from PNC Park is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET and you can catch all the action using NESN 360.