Matsuzaka To DL With Elbow Sprain

Added on May 18, 2011 by Scott in

MLB

The Boston Red Sox beleaguered pitching staff took another hit when it was announced starter Daisuke Matsuzaka would be placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right elbow sprain. A MRI on Tuesday revealed the injury. Dice-K’s erratic outing on Monday sounded alarms when he struggled to fully extend his arm. It’s unclear the exact time the injury occurred, but he’s been dealing with tightness for the last two weeks.

Matsuzaka is off to a slow start in 2011. In eight games pitched, he’s gone 3-3 with a 5.30 ERA, and allowed 32 hits in 37 1/3 total innings. The 30-year-old has a career record of 49-30 and a 4.25 ERA. Manager Terry Francona was noncommittal about the duration Dice-K will be out.

“We’ll shut him down for a period of whatever time we need,” Francona said. “The doctors don’t know for how long.”

Matsuzaka joins fellow starter John Lackey on the DL, who was shut down on Monday with similar problems to his right elbow. Lackey has been awful thus far, posting a 2-5 record with a 8.01 ERA. Lucky for Boston, their top three hurlers, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz, are a combined 12-5.

It looks like 44-year-old Tim Wakefield will again be called upon to dust off his knuckleball. In 11 appearances, Wakefield is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in 23 innings. Despite his advanced age, he’s been a fairly reliable stopgap in recent years.

In addition to rotation issues, the Red Sox are also dealing with bullpen woes. Relievers Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler are still recovering from injuries, although Wheelers is eligible to rejoin the roster on Friday.

The Red Sox have overcome a dreadful 1-7 record to climb from the AL East basement. Winners of four straight, they are over .500 for the first time this season at 21-20. The preseason odds-on favorites to represent the American League in the World Series sit 2.5 games behind first place Tampa Bay.

Source: ESPN.com