David Ross

According to Red Sox manager John Farrell, both David Ross and Will Middlebrooks were classified as day-to-day after leaving the Sox’ 6-1 loss to the Twins early Tuesday night. Middlebrooks (right side/ribs) did receive X-rays after exiting the game in the seventh inning.

Both players were injured in the fifth inning while chasing a pop-up in foul ground near the wall just before the visitors dugout. Middlebrooks came up with the catch after the two banged into each other, and the barrier, in their sliding pursuit of the Chris Parmalee foul ball.

“David Ross has got left quad contusion, right above the knee area,” Farrell said. “When he slid, both he and will, the shin guard kind of peeled back a little bit and he slammed into the wall at that point. So he’s day-to-day. it’s not anything in the knee structurally. That checked out fine. He started to get some swelling in that inning and got him out of there. Will’s undergoing X-rays and a CT-scan right now, just on that right side. Again, when he slid on his side, he kind of whipped over and slammed in the wall there. we, precautionarily, took him out of the game. He took the next at-bat, he didn’t feel anything. He stated that he could have gone further but precautionary, we got him out of the game. His right side hit the wall.”

Ross stayed in for another batter after Parmalee, but after a Wilkin Ramirez single, and consultation at the mound, the catcher was escorted off the field by the Red Sox’ training staff.

“Obviously I’m a little sore,” said Ross, who referenced Middlebrooks’ ribs when talking about the third baseman’s injury. “I think I just jammed the top of my kneecap. It’s pretty sore and some swelling in there. If I wasn’t a catcher, I think I’d be fine, but squatting is a little bit sore. I couldn’t get up there in case the ball was in the dirt and stop it from going to the backstop or anything, so I felt it was best for Salty to get in there. Tough night.”

Ross added, “I stayed in for that one pitch. I felt it as I got down in my stance. It was tight. I felt the swelling in there. And then when I got to get up in my ready stance as far as with a man on third and I’ve got to block the ball, I couldn’t even get up. Anytime I engaged my quad, it was a pretty sharp pain. A lot of swelling. There’s no structural damage. We’ll get that swelling out of there, go home and ice until the wee hours of the morning.”

Ross is hitting .237/.341/.579 with four homers in 44 plate appearances. If he is unavailable for any meaningful stretch of time, the Sox almost surely would call up Ryan Lavarnway, who is hitting .328/.432/.500 for Triple-A Pawtucket and who has reached in all 18 games in which he’s played this year.

Pedro Ciriaco, who made two errors in the Twins’ four-run eighth inning, would be the short-term solution for Middlebrooks if the third baseman isn’t ready to go.

“Short term, not a concern,” Farrell said. “That was uncharacteristic of Pedro tonight. He’s shown to be a very dependable defender. You know, two miscues are unlike him. Long-term, we don’t think that will’s situation is more than day to day at this point. We’ll certainly get a better read once the test results come back. my thoughts haven’t gone down that path yet.”

Ryan Dempster was strong again but the Red Sox came apart late. (AP)

It was night when injury was added to insult for the Red Sox.

Ryan Doumit doubled, homered and scored twice as the Twins handed the Red Sox their fourth loss in five games, 6-1, Tuesday night at Fenway Park.

Wilkin Ramirez singled home Ryan Doumit in the fifth inning to break a scoreless tie, one batter after a collision that injured a pair of Red Sox starters. David Ross collided with Will Middlebrooks while chasing a Chris Parmelee foul pop near the Twins dugout, behind the on-deck circle.

“David Ross has a left quad contusion right above the knee area,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “When he slid, both he and Will, the shin guard kind of peeled back a little bit and he slammed into the wall at that point, so he’s day-to-day. It’s not anything in the knee. Structurally, that’s checked out fine. But he started to get some swelling in that inning and we got him out of there.

“Will is undergoing X-rays and CT scans on that right side. When he slid on his left side, he kind of whipped over and slammed into the wall. [As a precaution], we got him out of the game. He took the next at-bat, didn’t feel anything. He stated he could’ve gone further but as a precaution we got him out of the game.”

Ross would stay in the game for one batter before coming out with a strained left quadriceps while Middlebrooks came out after the sixth inning with pain in his right side. The double dose of injury news comes one night after the Red Sox lost their closer Joel Hanrahan to a strained right forearm.

Ryan Dempster (2-3) was the tough-luck loser as his offense and fielders failed him, early and late, respectively. Lefty Scott Diamond (3-2) stifled the Red Sox on three hits over seven shutout innings.

“A very good outing by Ryan Dempster,” Farrell said. “Unfortunately, not much to show for it on our end, and that’s not taking anything away from Diamond, who lived on the edge and stay out of the middle of the plate, even when he got in a couple of fastball counts. He located well.

“In the time he was in the there, I don’t think we had a guy past first base. Other than that, it was a solid outing by Ryan Dempster.”

During a four-run Minnesota eighth that blew the game open, Farrell appeared ready to get his first ejection as skipper, arguing a call at first when he felt Doumit ran inside the baseline, causing a Jarrod Saltalamacchia error that continued Boston’s misery in the inning.

“We execute the out at home,” Farrell said. “The return throw is low as he’s trying to throw around the runner Doumit. He steps on [Mike] Napoli’s foot, clearly indicates he’s inside the base path. The explanation to me was … I’m still trying to figure out the explanation. I’ll just leave it at that. That 45-foot lane is there for a reason. He wasn’t in it. By the rule, he should’ve been out.”

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE RED SOX

• Injuries mounting very fast. There’s no immediate prognosis on the Middlebrooks or Ross injuries but the Red Sox can ill afford a repeat of 2012 when injuries to starting position players midway through the season depleted their depth and eventually took its toll. The Red Sox are already dealing with injuries to Hanrahan and Andrew Bailey while hoping Napoli and David Ortiz hold up over the course of the season.

• Scott Diamond looked like Cole Hamels. The lefty, mixing his 89 mph fastball with a wide variety of offspeed pitches, kept the Red Sox batters off balance all night.

• Saltalamacchia continues to struggle badly. He over-swung at an 81 mph slider down and in during his first plate appearance in place of Ross. Salty did connect for his fourth homer of the season, an opposite field solo shot over the Monster to open the ninth.

• Before getting injured, Will Middlebrooks‘ struggles continued, going 0-for-2 with a strike out, dropping his average to .192 on the season.

• Pedro Ciriaco woeful in the field. Life has not been kind to Red Sox third basemen. Middlebrooks has struggled in the field this season and his two errors on routine grounders to open the eighth opened the flood gates for the Twins, who blew the game wide open.

“Short term, not a concern,” Farrell said of the club’s depth situation at third base with Middlebrooks’ status uncertain. “That was uncharacteristic of Pedro tonight. He has shown to be a very dependable defender. Two miscues are unlike him. Long term, we don’t think Will’s situation is more than day-to-day at this point. We’ll certainly get a better read when the test results come back. My thoughts haven’t gone down that path yet.”

• Lefty Craig Breslow couldn’t get anyone out, literally. After coming in for Dempster, Breslow allowed three hits, one walk and two runs, one earned, as Saltalamacchia committed the third Red Sox error of a brutal four-run eighth.

Read the rest of this entry »

Red Sox catcher David Ross and third baseman Will Middlebrooks both left Tuesday night’s game against the Twins at Fenway Park shortly after a collision that took place in pursuit of a foul pop-up by the short, padded fence next to the visitor’s dugout at Fenway Park.

Chris Parmalee fouled off a Ryan Dempster cutter, too shallow for either Middlebrooks or Ross to call off the other. Middlebrooks made a tremendous sliding catch of the ball, but as he did so, he crashed into Ross’ left leg, perhaps at the knee.

Initially, after receiving attention from a team trainer, Ross stayed in the contest. But after Wilkin Ramirez lined a first-pitch fastball up the middle to score Ryan Doumit from third, Ross hobbled to the mound to confer with Dempster. Upon further attention from the training staff, he walked off the field and into the clubhouse with a slight limp. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who played all 11 innings in Monday’s lengthy affair against the Twins, replaced Ross, who was diagnosed with what the team described as a left quad contusion.

Ross is hitting .237/.341/.579 with four homers in 44 plate appearances. If he is unavailable for any meaningful stretch of time, the Sox almost surely would call up Ryan Lavarnway, who is hitting .328/.432/.500 for Triple-A Pawtucket and who has reached in all 18 games in which he’s played this year.

While Middlebrooks initially remained in the game, he was replaced at third base for the top of the seventh by Pedro Ciriaco due to what the team described as “right side pain.” The third baseman was 0-for-2 with a strikeout. He is hitting .192/.228/.375 with six homers.

Further updates will be offered as they become available.

Red Sox shortstop prospect Jose Iglesias is out of the lineup for Triple-A Pawtucket for the third straight game on Tuesday night in Gwinnett, Ga. Iglesias was pulled due after the fourth inning of Saturday’s game in Pawtucket for what PawSox manager Gary DiSarcina described to reporters as a “manager’s decision,” and he suggested that the decision for him not to play on Sunday was made for the same reason, with no physical ailment limiting the shortstop.

Red Sox manager John Farrell was asked about the decision not to play Iglesias.

“Just in the reports from the Triple-A staff, we felt it was best he needed a couple of days to regroup. Kind of get back to what has allowed him to be a very good player and experience success,” said Farrell. “He’s dealing with some things.”

On the year, Iglesias (who was 9-for-20 with two doubles in six big league games to open the year) is now hitting .235/.278/.397 in Triple-A. He hasn’t walked in 15 games.

Allen Webster

The Red Sox called up righty Allen Webster from Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday, and the 23-year-old will start Wednesday against the Twins. In addition, the team announced that reliever Joel Hanrahan will be placed on the disabled list for the second time this season. Left-hander Felix Doubront, who had been scheduled to start on Wednesday, will head to the bullpen for this turn of the rotation.

In one previous start this season at the major-league level (on April 21) Webster tossed six innings of five-hit baseball in a 5-4 loss to the Royals. Webster is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA (6 ER/20.0 IP) in four starts for the PawSox this year, compiling 26 strikeouts compared to six walks while holding opponents to a .171 average (12-for-70).

“I’ve been here before and had a game under my belt. Ready to see how it goes,” Webster said of his second call-up, which he received at about 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, with the PawSox in Gwinnett, Ga. “Now it’s just to go out there and do the best I can to help us win.”

For Hanrahan, this marks his second stint on the disabled list this season after missing 15 games last month because of a right hamstring strain. The 31-year-old has made three appearances since coming off the disabled list on April 30, allowing two runs over 2.2 innings of work.  He collected his 100th career save with a scoreless ninth inning in Toronto on May 2. Hanrahan is 0-1 with four saves, a 9.82 ERA (8 ER/7.1 IP), and five strikeouts over nine relief outings for the Red Sox overall in 2013, his first season with the club.

Hanrahan was diagnosed with inflammation and a strain in his right forearm. He will need a period of rest and re-evaluation before a timetable can be put on his return. Farrell said that the elbow ligament did not appear to be at issue, and that the reliever is instead dealing with a flexor mass issue.

“Everything shows that the structure of the ligament is not involved in this situation. It’s in that flexor mass, probably at some point where the tendon and the muscle join. So, that’s the area that we’re dealing with right now, that Joel’s dealing with,” said Farrell, who suggested that this issue is unrelated to his prior stint on the DL with a sore hamstring. “Want to be careful not to put a timeframe out there and then he’s quicker than it or longer than it. Then it becomes a story in and of itself. Right now, it’s confirmed — he’s got a strain to the right forearm. When we say there’s going to be a shutdown period, we have to go on, I’m sure at some point there ail be a re-exam or a re-MRI of the right forearm, but at this point, he’s in a shutdown period.” Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a look at the lineup for the Red Sox’ Tuesday night game against the Twins:

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Shane Victorino RF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
David Ortiz DH
Mike Napoli 1B
Jonny Gomes LF
Will Middlebrooks 3B
Stephen Drew SS
David Ross, C
Ryan Dempster, P

For a complete look at the matchups, click here.

Junichi Tazawa

Speaking on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM Tuesday, Red Sox manager John Farrell said with both Andrew Bailey (biceps) and Joel Hanrahan (forearm) out due to injury, Junichi Tazawa would step in as the team’s closer.

“I think what we’d love to do is close [Junichi] Tazawa,” Farrell said. “We’d keep Koji [Uehara] in that eighth inning role that he’s been in. We just got [Craig] Breslow back to us yesterday and before the game we put [Andrew] Bailey on the disabled list who had done a great job in the closing role as well. So fortunately we do have some depth to turn to internally and we know that we’ve got to get through these next couple of days to kind of regroup, because [we had] a couple of extra-inning games, we were in some tight games down in Texas, we have a starter check out early in the game where we’ve had to use the bullpen.  So we’re kind of breathing a little thin ice down there right now and just trying to manage the best we can to get through these next couple of days to regroup.”

Asked why the choice was Tazawa instead of Uehara, Farrell said, “Well, the one thing I like about Koji is, typically, if you’re going to get those pinch hit left-handers in the eighth inning, he’s so effective against lefties.  And you can point to a few guys around the league that are right-handers that are so effective against lefties, and Peralta down in Tampa is another one, Koji is obviously one for us.  I think that’s where you might get a little bit of that gamesmanship or the matchup capability in that eighth inning.  Both of them are very good strike throwers.  They have very good command of their fastball, they’ve got a good secondary pitch, they control the running game, both of them, very effectively.  Tazawa has a little bit more fastball which, whether I’m siding to the traditional approach with a little bit more power late in the game, that’s there.  So, right now that’s the initial approach that we’d take to closing things out.”

Tazawa has pitched in a team-high 16 games this season, totaling a 2.51 ERA with opponents hitting .216 against the righty. (Uehara had an identical .216 opponents batting average in 15 appearances.)

To listen to the entire interview, click here.