All of a sudden the Boston Red Sox have found themselves in a chase for the American League Wild Card with the Tampa Bay Rays. A lot of the trouble that has been plaguing the Red Sox is their pitching staff. John Lackey hasn’t quite lived up to the expectations the Red Sox had when they signed him as a free agent, Daisuke Matsuzaka is gone for the rest of the season with Tommy John Surgery and Tim Wakefield is probably getting AARP cards mailed to him.
This leaves Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz as the their top three arms in the rotation. The trouble with that however is Beckett has been dealing with a sprained ankle and will hopefully be available this weekend when the Red Sox play a huge series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Buchholz however has been out since June 16 with a stress fracture in his lower back.
Boston however did receive some encouraging news Tuesday when Buchholz’s throwing session went well. The team has also scheduled a true bullpen session for Thursday in which the Red Sox will be able to get a better idea on whether or not Bucholz will be able to return this season and in what capacity.
Source: NESN