CHICAGO (AP) -Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield will miss at least two starts and go on the disabled list because of a stiff right shoulder, manager Terry Francona said Sunday.
Wakefield returned to Boston on Sunday for a cortisone shot after cutting short a throwing session the previous day. The 42-year-old right-hander experienced some stiffness while holding Kansas City to four hits over six innings in an 8-2 win on Wednesday.
“We took him out a little early the other night,” Francona said. “He was getting stiffer and stiffer as the game progressed. It was getting hard to get loose. He was still throwing great.”
The Red Sox are taking a cautious approach with Wakefield, who missed the AL Division Series and World Series last year with a similar injury.
“We’re trying to not have this thing get to the point where it did last year,” Francona said.
Wakefield, 7-8 with a 3.67 ERA, was scheduled to start Tuesday, but the Red Sox will call up a minor leaguer instead. Francona said Bartolo Colon, on the disabled list since June 17 with a stiff lower back, is not ready to return yet.
Also on Sunday, the Red Sox scratched first baseman Kevin Youkilis from the lineup because of a sore left shoulder.
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