The Boston Red Sox called up Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo from Triple-A Pawtucket and he was expected to start in right field on Friday night against the Los Angeles Angels.
To make room on the roster, the Red Sox sent outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. back to Triple-A.
Castillo defected from his native country last year and received a seven-year, $72 million contract in August from the Red Sox. He played in 10 games for Boston last season and batted .333 with two home runs.
The 26-year-old Castillo had some injury issues during spring training and started the season in the minors. In 18 Triple-A games, he was batting .293 with two home runs, 10 RBIs and six stolen bases. But in his last 12 games with Pawtucket, he has batted .327.
Ortiz doesn’t have answers for slump
Red Sox DH David Ortiz didn’t have much to say after the Red Sox dropped a 3-1 decision to the Texas Rangers in the rubber game of a three-game series Thursday night.
“No answers. We just ain’t hitting, period,” said the designated hitter, who is batting just .241 entering Friday night’s game for a team that just isn’t scoring.
The Red Sox are 5-for-53 (.094) with runners in scoring position over the last eight games, falling to .199 on the season in that very important category. They have scored two runs or fewer in 15 of their 41 games.
And they continue to waste strong pitching. Clay Buchholz pitched well enough to win Thursday but still has one victory since opening day. Before Friday’s game, the starters’ ERA over the past eight games was 2.00, but the team record was 4-4 over that span because of the lack of offense.
PLAYER NOTES: Third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who sustained a bruised left knee when he was hit by 95 mph fastball Tuesday, missed his second consecutive start Thursday night, receiving an extra day off with Texas LHP Wandy Rodriguez on the mound. Sandoval is 2-for-41 batting right-handed this season. He did pinch-hit in the eighth inning and was expected to be in the lineup Friday. … RF Shane Victorino was in the original lineup Thursday but was scratched because of general soreness. “Vic is held out tonight with some soreness, more centralized around the left calf,” manager John Farrell said. “Not anything related to the lower back or left hamstring that he has dealt with in the past, but precautionary. Through normal pregame maintenance, he wasn’t able to get it right, and (we) made the decision to hold him out.”