Red Sox: Koji Uehara Leaves Game with Possible Injury
By Evan Nigro
Boston Red Sox interim closer Koji Uehara left Tuesday night’s game in the 9th inning. Injury updates are sure to follow.
All was going well Tuesday night as the Boston Red Sox cruised towards a victory against the San Francisco Giants. Boston was leading 4-0 going into the 9th inning where they brought in Koji Uehara to finish the game.
He was able to get the first out without issue. While facing the second batter however, he appeared to tweak something in his shoulder during the follow-through of a pitch. Uehara called out manager John Farrell and the Boston trainer, and was quickly removed from the game. Tommy Layne was brought in and finished out the rest of the game.
After the game, Farrell told the press that Uehara has a strained pectoral. He could not however, give an answer on how much time Koji is likely to miss.
It's a strained pectoral for Koji Uehara, according to manager John Farrell. Uehara will be evaluated further on... https://t.co/GUEjnEt2Xc
— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) July 20, 2016
Any type of prolonged DL-stint for Uehara would be bad news for the Sox bullpen. With closer Craig Kimbrel already sidelined for the next few weeks, the Red Sox are running out of late inning options. If Uehara is sidelined for an extended period of time, Brad Ziegler would likely step in as closer, as he has previous experience in the role with Arizona.
Next: Red Sox: Yoan Moncada Not Switching Positions
More updates on the extent of the injury and the possible recovery time should come in the next day or so.