Ranger Suarez’s return from the injured list continues to be pushed back, but not because of the groin strain he sustained on July 5.
The All-Star left-hander has been under the weather for the last several days. He managed to check the necessary boxes with his injury progression despite the unspecified illness, including throwing a side session Sunday and running fielding drills Monday, but the Red Sox do not yet feel comfortable pushing him in a game setting.
“Suarez will not be activated,” interim manager Chad Tracy announced in between Games 1 and 2 of Wednesday’s doubleheader, when he named rookie Eduardo Rivera the latter’s starter. “Doing a little bit better, but not good enough for us to put him out there yet.”
Tracy announced during Monday’s postgame that Suarez would start the following evening’s game against the Baltimore Orioles, but pivoted to Rivera the following afternoon. When Tuesday’s game was rained out and postponed to a Wednesday doubleheader, Tracy started rookie left-hander Jake Bennett in Game 1. Following the 6-3 victory, which matched the 1946 team’s franchise-record 15 consecutive wins, Tracy named Rivera the starter for Game 2.
“More the illness,” Tracy clarified. “The combination of that, and coming off that, if he’s weak we don’t want him out there, and so just not appropriate yet.”
The Red Sox will “just keep checking in on” Suarez, and see how he’s feeling during Thursday’s off-day.
First, they will vie for a new franchise record in the evening’s series finale.