Boston Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz finds himself on the disabled list again for the fifth consecutive season after suffering a strained flexor muscle in his right forearm in a 5-1 loss to the New York Yankees Friday.
According to ESPN, Buchholz felt discomfort in his elbow in the third inning facing Red Sox outfielder Brett Gardner.
The 30-year-old went on to finish the inning and faced three more batters in the fourth before calling catcher Sandy Leon to the mound, Yahoo Sports reported.
Red Sox manager John Farrell also came to the mound and Robbie Ross Jr. relieved Buchholz.
"I probably shouldn't have started the inning. It's definitely the most my elbow has ever bothered me in a game situation," Buchholz said according to ESPN.
The two-time All- Star also said, "You always think the worst right when it happens but it wasn't one pitch, it wasn't a pop. That sort of makes you feel better, but until you get the images you don't know. It's not necessarily a good thing, but it's definitely the best thing."
Buchholz went through MRI and there was no damage seen to his ulnar collateral ligament, ESPN reported.
"It's probably more frustrating than a relief. At least it's not going to be a long stay as far as the DL goes," he said.
Meanwhile Farrell stated, "To me, it sounds like this has been caught early on. The changes shown [in the imaging] are only the flexor muscle, not the ligament. He was certainly relieved, but we'll still take the necessary steps to calm this down and rebuild it."
Rookie Brian Johnson was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket to take Buchholz's roster spot.
The Red Sox entered the All-Star break with a 42-47 record dropping two of their last three games in their home series against the Yankees.
