Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Steven Wright suffered a shoulder injury on Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers and will be unable to make his next scheduled start.
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Wright Scratched from Next Start
Wednesday, Aug. 10
According to Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald, Wright suffered the injury while pinch running on Sunday. An MRI showed no structural damage, but he has been removed from his next start, which was set to come on Thursday against the New York Yankees.
According to Drellich, Wright is the only American League pitcher to pinch run in a game this season.
The 31-year-old knuckleballer is experiencing the best campaign of his four-year career in 2016. Having never won more than five games in a season, Wright has compiled a 13-5 record in 22 starts this year while garnering his first All-Star selection.
He leads the majors with four complete games, and his 3.01 ERA is the best of any Red Sox pitcher who has started more than 10 games.
In his most recent start on Aug. 5, Wright threw his first career shutout against the Dodgers in which he went the distance while striking out nine:
Drellich noted that Eduardo Rodriguez will start for Wright on Thursday, and Clay Buchholz will be slotted into the open spot of the rotation left by Wright. But both of those arms haven’t provided anything like Wright’s contributions this year.
Rodriguez is 2-5 this season with a 5.93 ERA, while Buchholz is 4-9 with a 5.68 ERA and making a return to the starting rotation after being demoted to the bullpen.
With David Price, the Red Sox’s assumed ace entering 2016, struggling, Boston will have to rely on the 15-3 Rick Porcello to continue performing at a high level.
But if Wright is to miss a considerable amount of time, Boston’s hopes of outlasting the big bats of the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles in the American League East could take a big hit.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
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