Red Sox place Nathan Eovaldi on the injured list

As things continue to go more and more poorly for the Red Sox, the man at the top of their rotation is dealing with an injury that has already pushed him back a couple of times. Nathan Eovaldi’s most recent start was originally supposed to come back on Wednesday in the middle game of the team’s three-game set against the Blue Jays. What at the time they thought was just cramping in his calf caused them to move him back to tonight’s game, the middle contest against the Nationals. Thursday’s game, in which the Red Sox players decided not to play, caused that start to be pushed back to Sunday. We learned after Friday’s game that Eovaldi would be pushed back once again, and now he has been put on the injured list with a calf strain. The move makes room for Chris Mazza, who takes the mound for tonight’s game against Washington.

There’s really not a whole lot more to say about this. This is clearly a lost season for the Red Sox, so it pretty much goes without saying that players should not be pushing themselves through injury and risking anything serious. Eovaldi is eligible to come back for next Saturday’s game against the Blue Jays, so we’ll see if that actually comes to fruition. The team is confident at this point, though they also seemed confident about this weekend’s start. Again, though, there is no reason to wait until he’s anything but 100 percent.

As for Mazza, he is making the spot start for this one. This will be his third appearance in the majors this year. In the first two, he has 5 ²⁄₃ innings with a 6.35 ERA to go with seven strikeouts and three walks.