BOSTON -- All-Star lefty Ranger Suarez is back in the Red Sox's rotation for Sunday’s finale of this three-game series against the Blue Jays. Interim manager Chad Tracy made the announcement prior to Saturday’s game. To make room on the roster, left-hander Alec Gamboa was optioned to Triple-A Worcester.
Suarez suffered a left groin strain during his start on July 5, the day after he was named an All-Star for the second time in his career.
The plan was for Suarez to return several days ago, but an untimely illness delayed his return.
With Suarez going on Sunday, rookie lefty Payton Tolle will have the benefit of six days of rest when he takes the ball to start a four-game series against the Athletics in West Sacramento on Monday night.
“When we talked about it coming out of it, it’s like, first of all, if we can get Ranger the days he needs, but also sliding him behind [Patrick Sandoval] and [Sonny] Gray, not disrupting him," said Tracy. "You get the other two guys [Tolle and Jake Bennett] a little bit extra break, which is good for them, too.”
The Red Sox played without both Suarez and lefty Connelly Early the last few turns through the rotation. Early last pitched on June 30 before getting shut down with left elbow inflammation, and late Saturday night, he was dealt to the Nationals in exchange for Curtis Mead.
Impressively, during the time the two lefties were both out, the Red Sox went 16-3.
“If you scripted that out before any of this happened and said, ‘This is going to happen. Suarez’s going to go down. Early's going to go down, you’d be like, ‘That's going to be the end of that [streak],'" said Tracy. "But we've had guys that have stepped up. Tolle’s been great all year. Jake Bennett came in and did great.
“We got Sandoval back at the same time some of this happened, which was huge. We added an arm at a time where some of these things started to occur. We’ve navigated a couple bullpen-type games, and some of them, we’ve done very well. So the pitching's done a fantastic job navigating what I guess you could call rough waters here. So starting to see some guys move towards health is important.”
Suarez has made 17 starts this season, going 4-3 with a 3.15 ERA in 91 1/3 innings. Early has also made 17 starts, going 7-5 with a 3.44 ERA covering 91 2/3 innings.