As Matsuzaka was warming up, he felt forearm tightness and was scratched just minutes before the game was to start, forcing manager Terry Francona to start Scott Atchison and piece together enough arms to last nine innings. Although Matsuzaka said he "thinks he could have pitched through it," Francona wasn't going to chance it.
"We just weren't comfortable, and again, this was happening fast," Francona told MLB.com. "He was talking that he could pitch, but he'd have to change his arm slot a little bit. That wasn't going to be a good idea."
Francona and pitching coach John Farrell opted to put the starter on the 15-day DL and call up pitcher Dustin Richardson from Triple-A Pawtucket instead of potentially worsening a minor injury.
"I think I could have pitched through it," Matsuzaka said through his interpreter, "but we talked about it and decided there's no sense in trying to compensate and making a mechanical adjustment just to get through it, so that was the decision."
Matsuzaka will be evaluated further on Sunday.
The Red Sox benefit from two off days before Matsuzaka is able to come off the DL on June 23, meaning they won't need to replace the starter until June 19. With almost a week until then, Francona has ample time to decide if he wants to stick with a pitcher platoon, start recently healed Boof Bonser, call up someone from the minors or go in an entirely different direction.
Though the Sox lost one starter from their rotation on Saturday, they did get good news about another. Josh Beckett played catch before Saturday's game against Philadelphia and "felt terrific," according to Francona. Beckett was on rest for 10 days after a May 28 side session produced more discomfort in the ace's lower back strain.
"Thirty throws at 60 feet and he felt terrific," Francona told MLB.com. "He'll move out to 90 [on Sunday]. We'll kind of do that for a few days and then there will be a down day and we'll get him [to] 120 [feet]. But he had a real good day. He was really excited about how he felt."
Just a game after aggravating back spasms, Kevin Youkilis was knocked out of Saturday's match-up after being hit in the right elbow in the bottom of the sixth inning. Francona did not say whether Youkilis would start Sunday's game, which may be influenced by Monday's day off, but revealed that the infielder was OK.
"He got hit on the ulnar nerve — the funny bone — and he got hit pretty good," Francona said after Saturday's game. "You could see when he was running the bases he was kind of dragging that arm. He's sore, and he's probably going to be sore [Sunday]. But he's OK."
Outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Jeremy Hermida both continued to rehab their injuries. Both dealing with rib ailments, Ellsbury and Hermida do not have specific return dates.
An MRI on June 10 revealed more serious injuries for Ellsbury, and he will now rehab with the potential to return sometime in July. Hermida was placed on the 15-day DL on June 11 with broken ribs after colliding with third baseman Adrian Beltre.
