ST. LOUIS -- The Red Sox will reinsert a fifth starter into the rotation on Thursday, when right-hander Hector Velazquez is called up from Triple-A Pawtucket to make his Major League debut on the road against the Oakland Athletics.
Velazquez's contract was purchased by the Red Sox from the Mexican League on Feb. 18. In five starts for Pawtucket, the 28-year-old Velazquez is 2-1 with a 1.55 ERA.
Thanks to the off-day the Red Sox had on Monday, they could have waited until Saturday to start Velazquez.
But manager John Farrell instead opted to use this as an opportunity to split up Rick Porcello and Chris Sale in the rotation.