BOSTONWhen the Red Sox sent Junichi Tazawa back to Pawtucket after Mondays game, the move left the bullpen with just six pitchers. The Sox rectified that Wednesday by adding right-hander Clayton Mortensen before Wednesdays series finale with the As.
In six games with Triple-A Pawtucket this season, Mortensen has posted a record of 22 with one save, and a 0.90 ERA, allowing just one run in 10.0 innings of relief.
He has appeared in 24 major league games with 13 starts for the Cardinals, As, and Rockies, posting a combined record of 4-8 with a 4.12 ERA.
I know pitching heres a lot different than anywhere else, Mortensen said. But I know what I can do and I know what they want me to do and thats get outs. Im going to try as hard as I can to do that. Ive set the bar high for myself and I set my expectations high. So thats all I try to do.
They just told me since Ive been up and down the last few years, they know Ive been able to throw in big league games and so they know Im not going to be shell-shocked when I get out there. They said 'be ready and when we call we want you to do well,' and Im more than ready, so when you want me Im ready.
Asked how he had been pitching for the PawSox, Mortensen replied with a laugh;
Well, enough to get called up.
Boston Red Sox
Ironically, Mortensen had been scheduled to make his first start for Pawtucket Thursday in place of Aaron Cook, who will be added to the Red Sox 25-man roster later this week and start in place of Josh Beckett.
He was scheduled to start Thursday, so he was the most rested arm at Triple A who's on our (40-man) roster, said manager Bobby Valentine. The reports are very good. He's been pitching so well that they were giving him a start because it's so unpredictable getting guys work out of the bullpen yet.
A first-round pick of the Cardinals in 2007, the Sox acquired Mortensen in January in a trade with the Rockies for shortstop Marco Scutaro.
Sean McAdam contributed to this report.