Criswell is scheduled to start Wednesday's game against the Astros in Houston.

After returning from the COVID-19 injured list Friday, Criswell worked in bulk relief behind opener Brennan Bernardino later that night in the Red Sox's 12-10 win over the Orioles, picking up a win despite allowing six earned runs on nine hits and four walks over 3.1 innings. The poor outing won't prevent him from settling in as the Red Sox's new No. 5 starter in place of James Paxton (calf), who was placed on the 15-day injured list Monday and is out indefinitely. Criswell lacks strikeout upside but has done a good job inducing weak contact this season (50 percent groundball rate) while accruing a 4.56 ERA and 1.36 WHIP across 75 innings with Boston.