BOSTON -- The Red Sox were forced to make a significant adjustment to their unpredictable bullpen Saturday prior to Game 2 of the American League Division Series, as knuckleballer Steven Wright had to be taken off the roster due to injury. He was replaced by righty reliever Richard Hembree.
The move is effective for the remainder of the series. Major League Rule 40(a) dictates that Wright will also be unavailable to pitch in the AL Championship Series should Boston make it that far, though he could return if Boston qualifies for the World Series.
:: ALDS schedule and results ::
Wright felt soreness in his left knee during pregame warmups on Friday and underwent an MRI, which revealed inflammation and a loose body. In May of 2017, Wright underwent a cartilage restoration procedure on that same knee.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said it's too early to know if Wright will be back for a potential World Series.
The development is stinging for this series, as Cora planned on leaning on Wright heavily. The righty was dominant after coming back from the disabled list in September, giving up just one earned run in 10 outings.
In fact, Cora admitted Saturday that Wright likely would have been the first one out of the bullpen when Chris Sale came out of the Game 1 victory on Friday night. Sale left with a 5-0 lead, and Boston barely hung on, 5-4.
Without Wright, the Red Sox had to scramble and use Game 3 starter Rick Porcello to get the first two outs in the eighth. In fact, Cora said he would use Porcello again if necessary in Game 2. If that's the case, the righty would likely have his start pushed back to Game 4.
Another pitcher who will likely get more responsibility in light of Wright's absence is lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, who spent most of the season in the starting rotation, going 13-5 with a 3.82 ERA. Though consistency has always been an issue for Rodriguez, he has some of the best pure stuff on the staff.

"He was important anyway," said Cora. "Now we have to map it out to see how we're going to use him, because obviously he can give us multiple innings if something happens, you know? We've got to be smart. We only have one long guy in the bullpen. How we're going to maneuver that, it's going to be very important for us."
Hembree was essentially the last cut when the Red Sox submitted their original roster for the ALDS on Friday. After being an invaluable setup man for Boston for the first few months of the season, particularly in stranding inherited runners, Hembree struggled in the second half, recording a 5.03 ERA while blowing three saves.
Hembree also allowed five home runs in 19 2/3 innings after the All-Star break, and he could now be called upon to face a Yankees lineup that knocked an MLB-record 265 homers in the regular season.

"Although he struggled with his slider, we feel his fastball can make a difference," said Cora. "We'll see how we use him. Obviously throughout the season, he was coming in with situations with runners on. I don't know where we're going to go, but we still feel like 97 mph with life up in the zone is OK with this team."
Boston's bullpen remains the biggest question mark in the series. Cora said that closer Craig Kimbrel, who got four outs on Friday, will generally be a "full go" by the eighth inning.

Devers sits against righty
A day after Cora said he was leaning toward starting third baseman Rafael Devers against righty Masahiro Tanaka for Game 2, he instead went to Eduardo Nunez for the second straight game. Interestingly, Devers is 4-for-10 lifetime against Tanaka while Nunez is 4-for-17.
Defense played a factor. Though Devers has superior range to Nunez, he also led the Majors with 24 errors.
"Offensively [Devers has] been swinging the bat well, but as far as what we have, it's not like a big difference the way Nuney is swinging the bat. He's been putting up good at-bats," Cora said. "Tanaka, reverse splits but not that much. Actually, righties are hitting better. Then, obviously, we feel pretty good about Nuney at third base.

"I know the kid has more range and he can make the great play, but there's something with the routine play that throughout the season, we didn't see it, obviously. With David pitching, there's a lot of ground balls to that side so I just went with him."
Bird is the word
Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. was quite amused by the bird that was making the rounds in the outfield throughout Game 1.
"Yeah, he befriended quite a few of us," Bradley said. "I honestly don't think he cared where we were. He was just going to enjoy the grass seeding that was down there. He mixed it up -- he went from left, center to right. He enjoyed himself."

When Bradley tried to make a diving catch on a sinking liner by Aaron Judge, the bird was within a few feet of him.
"I'm just glad that on that -- I actually thought about it before the inning even started; he was directly in front of me. I'm like, 'What are you doing?' I just got a feeling it's going to be a ball hit right there, and I'm going to have to dive," Bradley said. "I'm telling you, four plays later -- actually, it was two batters later, Aaron hits a ball right there. And I'm like, the first thing off the bat I can think about is, man, that bird is about to get hit."