Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz to start Sunday against Yankees

Clay Buchholz missed Monday's scheduled start with discomfort in his collarbone, and was then supposed to start on Friday against the Yankees before continued discomfort pushed him back once more. After a second throwing session that took place on Thursday, though, Buchholz has been cleared to pitch, and will do so on Sunday in game three of the Red Sox series against New York.

Things went well for the Red Sox in Buchholz's short absence, at least: Alfredo Aceves pitched in his place on Monday, throwing six innings while allowing one run in a Red Sox victory, and then Franklin Morales was inserted in the rotation for Thursday's contest against the Phillies once Buchholz wasn't cleared to pitch. While he didn't need to be at his best, as Boston scored nine runs, he managed five innings of two-run ball before handing it over to the bullpen for their shutdown performance the rest of the way.

Buchholz currently leads the American League in ERA, and the majors in ERA+ and wins above replacement for pitchers. He's easily having his best season ever -- not a small thing for a pitcher who has led the league in ERA before -- and the Red Sox obviously need him around if they want to continue to stick at the top of the AL East.