BOSTON -- The Red Sox had hoped to get Nathan Eovaldi back on the mound this weekend against the defending World Series champion Nationals, but that is no longer in the cards.

Eovaldi, who was skipped in the rotation earlier this week, was placed on the injured list with a very mild strain in his right calf. Right-hander Chris Mazza was recalled and will make the start on Saturday.

“His bullpen [Friday] was actually the best day he’s had off the mound, but he still feels it,” Roenicke said of Eovaldi. “So we’re going to push him back farther and make sure when he goes out there [after] he throws a bullpen we don’t have any issues. But it was encouraging that he’s getting better with this.

Righty Zack Godley will start in Eovaldi’s place on Sunday.

“And the bullpen, I actually went out and looked at it, and it looked pretty good. But because he feels it, our decision with [trainer] Brad [Pearson] and talking about it is to push him back, so it’ll be Godley in that spot.”

Starting pitching has been a struggle all season for the Red Sox.

With Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez both out for the season, Eovaldi has been thrust into the role of the No. 1 starter.

His most recent start on Aug. 21 against the Orioles was his best of the season, as the hard-throwing righty gave up just one run over seven innings.

For the season, Eovaldi is 2-2 with a 4.98 ERA in six starts.