Clay Buchholz lands on DL with right flexor strain

About the last thing the Boston Red Sox need right now is an injury to Clay Buchholz.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what they're facing after Buchholz was placed on the disabled list Saturday after suffering a right flexor strain during Friday's 5-1 loss to the New York Yankees.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary for Buchholz early in Friday's outing. Aside from Alex Rodriguez's first-inning homer, he looked sharp out of the gate. However, by the third inning some writers started to notice Buchholz was losing steam on his fastball, which helped them to piece together when the injury likely occurred.

Buchholz finished the third and faced three batters in the fourth before signaling to catcher Sandy Leon. When manager John Farrell arrived on the mound, there wasn't much to discuss. Buchholz was honest about how he felt, and Farrell wasn't hesitant to pull him.

Perhaps the quick actions of both saved Buchholz some degree of wear and tear. The injury was initially described as tightness in his right elbow, which was obviously very concerning. However, the MRI didn't reveal any ligament damage, only a flexor strain, which certainly isn't a worst-case scenario.

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The timing isn't bad either with the All-Star break coming up. It's expected that Buchholz will take a week off from throwing and then be reassessed next weekend. He would be eligible to return on July 26.

In a rotation full of capable but underachieving starters, Buchholz was Boston's clear ace this season. Through 17 starts, the right-hander was 7-6 with a 3.27 ERA over 110 innings. He was especially good in his four prior starts, pitching at least seven innings in each while allowing one earned run or fewer.

Without him, Boston will need some reinforcements from the outside or a collective resurgence from Rick Porcello, Wade Miley and Justin Masterson to cover the loss. Top prospect Brian Johnson was recalled Saturday to take Buchholz's roster spot. It's expected Johnson will be available out of the bullpen on Saturday and Sunday and then cover Buchholz's starts after the All-Star break.

Johnson, 24, comes in ranked as baseball's 90th best prospect according to MLB.com. He's drawn comparisons to Mark Buehrle, as he's more of a crafty left-hander than an overpowering one. At Triple-A Pawtucket, Johnson posted a 2.73 ERA and a 81/26 K/BB over 85 2/3 innings.

The circumstances aren't ideal, but the promotion is well deserved. Now we'll see if he can pitch himself into a full-time role and perhaps become a season-saver for Boston.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813