HOUSTON -- Twenty-seven days after he was yanked from the Boston Red Sox rotation and optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket, right-hander Joe Kelly is returning to start for the Sox Wednesday night here against the Houston Astros.
Sunday's rare rainout in Anaheim and subsequent double-header Monday created the need for another starter. The Sox could have started Wade Miley and Rick Porcello on regular rest the next two nights and opened the Detroit series at home Friday with Kelly, but manager John Farrell said they decided to give the starters an extra day's rest and import Kelly for Wednesday's start.
Kelly has made four starts for Pawtucket, including one in which he left after one inning after being struck in the forearm by a line drive. He was 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA, with 18 strikeouts, 6 walks and a .206 opponents' batting average in 19 innings.
Red Sox manager John Farrell was measured in his praise of Kelly's performance for the PawSox.
"Similar stuff -- the power's there," Farrell said. "Last time out, it was almost a tale of two performances inside of one game. He was dominant first couple of innings, then some foul balls, high pitch counts after that. But there's more of an effort to throw the ball inside to right-handed hitters and use both sides of the plate. He's on the mound tomorrow night."
Farrell was noncommittal about whether Kelly would get another start, with knuckleballer Steven Wright, who was designated as the "26th player” permitted for a double-header, eligible to return from Pawtucket. The four other pitchers taking this turn through the rotation are rookie Brian Johnson, who makes his big-league debut here Tuesday night, Miley, Porcello and rookie Eduardo Rodriguez. Miley would slot in Thursday against the Astros, with Porcello, Rodriguez and Johnson in line to pitch the Tigers series.
Kelly came from the Cardinals with first baseman Allen Craig in last July's trading deadline with St. Louis for John Lackey, a deal that has worked out disastrously for Boston to date. Craig was optioned to Pawtucket on May 10, outrighted to Pawtucket and taken off the team's 40-man roster after clearing waivers nine days later, and since June 1 is batting just .241 (33-for-137) with five extra-base hits for the PawSox.
Lackey, meanwhile, leads the Cardinals staff with 19 starts and is 8-5 with a 2.90 ERA.
Daniel Nava, who has been on the disabled list since May 26 with a strained left thumb, returned to the team after a 48-game absence. Shortstop Deven Marrero, who collected his first big-league hit in Monday's 11-1 loss to the Angels, was optioned to Pawtucket. Nava batted .250 (9-for-36) with a double and home run in a 10-game rehab assignment for the PawSox, and also returned to switch-hitting after the Sox asked him in spring training to bat exclusively from the left side.
