McAdam: Injuries can't keep Red Sox down

The rallying cry of "next man up'' was made for football, a violent sport where substitutions happen after every play and injuries are commonplace. The season is a war of attrition, with a blown-out knee or concussion seemingly lurking during the next series of downs.

Baseball has its injuries, too, though they can be so minor as to be comical: blistered fingers and contusions can seem to strike as often as actual, honest-to-goodness sprains and tears and breaks.

No matter the seriousness, however, the Red Sox have been struck by the injury bug in the last week, necessitating trips to the DL for three of their players from the 25-man rosters: two everyday players and a member of the starting rotation.

Since Friday, in fact, the Sox have played exactly one more game than they've had DL moves. First, it was Mookie Betts (abdominal strain). On Saturday, it was Dustin Pedroia (knee inflammation). And Monday, Drew Pomeranz was the unlucky one, diagnosed with biceps tendonitis.

Fortunately for the Red Sox, none of these pose any long-term threat. Betts swung a ball off a tee and took some cuts against soft tosses Tuesday. Pedroia is set to resume baseball activities Thursday. Pomeranz needs time, but not much, it's expected.

Still, the run of injuries could have strained a lesser team. But the Sox have absorbed the loss of manpower and continued to pile up victories.

In Houston, they mixed Brock Holt and Eduardo Nunez in place of Pedroia at second and split with the mighty Astros. Holt and Blake Swihart took turns patrolling right field, while Andrew Benintendi filled in capably in the leadoff spot and, incredibly, approximated the kind of production Betts had been providing there.

Finally, on Tuesday night, Steven Wright got his first start of the season and shut out the Detroit Tigers over seven innings in a 6-0 Sox win. Wright's start was originally conceived as a spot start, designed to provide an additional day of rest for the remainder of the rotation, which has performed reasonably well for the first third of the season.



Lately, the games have piled up along with some travel and it was determined that inserting Wright into the rotation could be the perfect tonic for a group of pitchers beginning to feel the effects of a long season.

But with the news that Pomeranz was headed to the DL, Wright's stay in the rotation could last a bit longer. At the very least, Wright will pitch again next Monday in Baltimore, since Pomeranz will not yet be eligible to return by then. And given that Pomeranz will need additional time to build back arm strength, it's all but guaranteed that Wright will take the next turn, too, scheduled in Seattle.

If Wright can duplicate what he did Tuesday -- inducing weak contact, confounding hitters' timing -- he might be difficult to dislodge. A sudden surplus of quality starters would be a welcome problem for the Sox as the season enters the warmer months and depth becomes a needed survival tool.

When they designated Hanley Ramirez nearly two weeks ago, the Red Sox were nearly giddy with the prospect of increased versatility and roster flexibility they had achieved. Suddenly, there would be playing opportunities for Swihart, Nunez could resume his super-utility role, and Holt could rotate through the infield and outfield to keep others fresh.

The twin losses of Betts and Pedroia, even for a relatively short period, put those plans on hold. Now, Nunez is back to effectively being the everyday second baseman and Holt has become the de facto right fielder. How much use -- if any -- they get out of Sam Travis remains to be seen.

But the injury setbacks haven't sunk the Sox and don't seem likely to in the near future. The bench may not be as formidable as it looked a week ago, but in the short-term, they can survive that.

Meanwhile, Wright has outpitched Pomeranz, whose underperformance had turned his last two outings into a referendum on his job security. And while he's fully capable of making some adjustments and having the sort of second half he enjoyed last year (3.01 in his final 15 starts), he wasn't contributing much as things were.

There are ancillary openings, now, too. Jalen Beeks will make his major-league debut Thursday, for one night only. Still, the experience of getting plugged into the rotation -- if only for one start -- should help his development and enable the Red Sox to test his readiness for later in the season.

Similarly, Brandon Workman, who was on the upswing at Pawtucket after a rough first two weeks of the season, is here -- though likely only until Beeks arrives -- with a chance to stake a bullpen claim for later.

And all the while, the Sox can fatten up on a cushy schedule that has them pitted against three straight lesser lights -- the Tigers, White Sox and Orioles -- over this nine-game stretch.

Not full strength? Not a problem.

Next man up, indeed.