While a Yankee pitcher is preparing for surgery that will end his season, a Red Sox pitcher is about to begin his.
Closer Mariano Rivera will undergo surgery Tuesday to repair his torn ACL. Rivera, 42, injured his knee injured his knee while fielding fly balls during batting practice in early May. His surgery was delayed after he suffered a blood clot in his right calf. On Wednesday, Rivera claimed the clot had cleared up and doctors have cleared him for surgery.
In the meantime, Rivera has been undergoing rehabilitation in order to strengthen his knee. He plans on returning to pitch next season.
Unlike their rivals, the Red Sox will be gaining a key pitcher shortly as Daisuke Matsuzaka will be activated this weekend and is scheduled to start on Sunday against the Washington Nationals. It has been nearly a year to the day since Matsuzaka underwent Tommy John surgery to repair his right elbow.
"He feels fine. Unless something changes, we'll try to activate him and pitch him on Saturday. Obviously, he won't be activated until then,'' manager Bobby Valentine said.
On Tuesday, Dice-K made his eighth and final rehab start. He pitched 1 1/3 innings for Triple-A Pawtucket, throwing 50 pitches and reaching 94 mph. In six starts with Pawtucket he is 0-2 with a 3.37 ERA. He will take the place of Daniel Bard, who was sent down to Triple-A on Tuesday.
Although the Yankees are losing the injured pitcher battle, they find themselves in a much better position in the standings than the Sox. New York beat Tampa Bay on Wednesday behind eight strong innings from Ivan Nova to pass the Rays in the AL East. They now sit in second place in the division, just a half-game behind the Orioles. The Bombers have won 10 of their last 13 games.
Boston is moving in the other direction. They lost their third consecutive game on Wednesday, a 2-1 loss to division-leading Baltimore. The defeat, the 12th in the last 15 games against the Birds, dropped the Sox to 28-28. Boston is in last place in the East, four games back.
