From the looks of things, the Red Sox are going to have to wait a little longer to get pitching help.
Left-hander David Price, who has not pitched at all this season due to a lingering elbow issue, threw 65 pitches in two tough innings during his first Triple-A rehab game Friday night.
Price was originally scheduled to throw 85-90 pitches, as noted by the Boston Globe's Peter Abraham. Barring an injury setback -- and there is no indication injury was a factor in Friday's short start -- Price was likely pulled because the BoSox didn't want him to throw any more high-stress pitches in his first rehab start. Price had to throw 15 pitches just to the first batter of the game.
On the bright side, Price did rebound to strike out the next three batters after the game-opening 15-pitch at-bat, and he looked very much like vintage David Price while doing it:
In addition to Price, the Red Sox are currently without Steven Wright (knee) and Drew Pomeranz (triceps), forcing them to turn to depth starters like Hector Velazquez, Brian Johnson, and Kyle Kendrick, who have combined to allow 22 runs in four starts and 18 1/3 innings this year. Needless to say, Boston is really looking forward to getting Price back.
The Red Sox have not yet announced the next step for Price and chances are an announcement won't come for another day or two. They're going to wait to see how Price feels following Friday's start before making any decisions. The fact he could only go two innings and 65 pitches suggests he'll make another minor league rehab start, which means the Red Sox will have to get by with at least one more start from their depth arms.