Nathan Eovaldi makes rehab start, hopes to rejoin Red Sox rotation soon
BOSTON -- Nathan Eovaldi toed the rubber for the Worcester Red Sox on Sunday. He's hoping that his next outing will be for the big league Red Sox in Yankee Stadium.
Eovaldi has been on the shelf since June 12 with lower back inflammation, but tossed three innings against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Sunday afternoon. The righty had mixed results, allowing a pair of runs off five hits (including a solo home run in the second inning) and no walks. Eovaldi struck out four, throwing 39 of his 55 pitches for strikes.
"It's nice being back out on the field competing," Eovaldi told WBZ-TV's Dan Roche after his outing. "Body-wise, I felt great. So that was the main thing to take out of today."
Eovaldi didn't get the results he was hoping for on the mound, but he was happy that he was able to use all five of his pitches on Sunday.
"I felt like I was rushing a bit on the mound, but felt I could compete with the stuff I had today," he said. "Splitter felt good, I mixed in some cutters, used the curve early in the count and same with the slider. I was able to use all five of my pitches and go out and compete."
It's unclear if Eovaldi will now make another rehab start for Worcester or rejoin the Boston rotation. He feels good enough to make his next start for Boston, which would fall during the team's upcoming three-game set against the Yankees in New York next weekend.
"I would love to be able to go out and help the guys compete in Yankee Stadium. Not my decision to make; I'm pushing to be able to make that start but we'll see what they decide," he said Sunday. "My body feels great, it's just building up the endurance for the arm to go out for five innings, 75-100 pitches."
The Red Sox split a four-game series against the Yankees at Fenway Park over the weekend and will now start a four-game set with the Tampa Bay Rays in Boston before making their way to the Bronx ahead of the All-Star break. The injury-riddled Boston rotation is set to get Chris Sale back on Tuesday night, and Eovaldi may not be far behind.