Clay Buchholz Scheduled to Return, Make Start Saturday Against Rays

Clay Buchholz made a rehab start on Sunday at Pawtucket to, as Bobby Valentine put it, "get his cleats back on the rubber." Things went well for the right-hander and because of it, he's scheduled to return to the Boston rotation when the club resumes play.

The Sox have announced their starting pitching for their first series after the All-Star break at Tampa Bay, and unsurprisingly, Buchholz is slated to return on Saturday night for the second game of the three-game set with the Rays.

It was assumed that Buchholz would make his return from a bout with esophagitis at some point during the series, and the club confirmed that on Monday afternoon. He was placed on the disabled list on June 24 with the ailment, an issue so severe that it left the pitcher in the hospital.

Buchholz went 2 1/3 innings on Sunday in his rehab start, giving one hit, walking two and striking out three for the PawSox.

Here are the full pitching matchups for the weekend series.

Friday: Franklin Morales versus Jeremy Hellickson
Saturday: Clay Buchholz versus David Price
Sunday: Josh Beckett versus James Shields