Once again, the Boston Red Sox have reason to worry about David Price's health.
The left-hander was scratched from his scheduled start Wednesday night against the rival New York Yankees and sent back to Boston for medical tests Tuesday after experiencing a tingling sensation in his pitching hand again.
"We have to make sure we know what's going on," manager Alex Cora said. "We'll have more probably after the game or (Wednesday)."
Cora said Price felt tingling in his hand Sunday while throwing a bullpen that was cut short, the same symptoms that forced him out of an April 11 game against the Yankees in Boston after allowing four runs in the first inning — the shortest start of his career.
Back then, the Red Sox figured cold weather was a likely cause. Price felt good playing catch the next day and didn't miss a turn in the rotation. He pitched pretty well in his next two outings, but struggled in the two after that and has lost three straight.
"I think everybody thought, everybody agreed that it was just something that happened that night," Cora said. "We talked about it and we thought that it wasn't going to happen again. So, it came up on Sunday. Now we're taking that route. It was tested, but now it's something else, you know? So we'll see. We'll see how it goes."
Rick Porcello was moved up a day to pitch Wednesday at Yankee Stadium, with left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez going Thursday night. Both will be on regular rest because the Red Sox were off Monday.
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Drew Pomeranz started Tuesday night against New York ace Luis Severino in the series opener. Boston entered with the best record in the majors at 25-9, one game better than the Yankees, who had won six straight and 15 of 16.
Price is 2-4 with a 5.11 ERA in seven starts during his third season with Boston. The 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner signed a $217 million, seven-year contract with the Red Sox in December 2015 but has been slowed by injuries the past two years.
"Yesterday he came here and got treatment, threw a little bit and we decided it was better for him to go back to Boston, check it out and go from there," Cora said Tuesday. "I'm not saying that he will miss the next start or there's a DL situation here, but obviously we want to make sure what's going on."
Price pitched 14 shutout innings in his first two starts this season before exiting early against the Yankees at Fenway Park. Since that outing last month, Cora said he hadn't heard about Price complaining of any more tingling in his hand until Sunday.
"I told him, I said, 'Hey man, your health is more important than just a start or two starts right now. Let's make sure you know what's going on," Cora said. "Obviously, his health is most important and the more we know about this situation, the better it's going to be for him and obviously for the team."
In other injury-related news, the Red Sox activated utilityman Brock Holt from the 10-day disabled list and optioned infielder Tzu-Wei Lin to Triple-A Pawtucket.
Star outfielder Mookie Betts was back in the lineup, hitting leadoff, after leaving Sunday's game at Texas with a bruised right shoulder.
Holt was batting .340 in 16 games when he went on the disabled list April 27 with a strained left hamstring. He went 1 for 3 in a rehab game Monday with Pawtucket and played six innings at shortstop.
Lin batted .188 (6 for 32) in 14 games for Boston, making seven starts at shortstop and two at second base.
Holt was involved in the lead-up to the April 11 brawl between the Yankees and Red Sox at Fenway. Boston players were upset that Tyler Austin slid spikes-first into Holt at second base, and Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly threw at Austin twice later in the game.
The second pitch hit Austin in the side. He rushed the mound and a melee ensued, leading to fines and suspensions.
Asked if he expected any carry-over this week, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said: "No, not at all. I think obviously we're getting ready to play a really good team, but I think what happened is behind us and, looking forward to hopefully just really good baseball these next few days."
