Gordon Edes - Red Sox Notebook: Buchholz placed on DL with torn fingernail

If it had been up to Buchholz, this would not have happened. And if the Sox had not lost two outfielders, J.D. Drew and Coco Crisp, the night before, this wouldn't have happened, either. Tuesday night, a Red Sox official said the fingernail would not impede Buchholz from making his next start, scheduled for Sunday.

But that was before Drew hyperextended his left wrist and Crisp turned woozy in Tuesday night's game, and the Sox were in need of another outfielder. Placing Buchholz on the DL created a roster spot that allowed them to purchase center fielder Jonathan Van Every from Triple A Pawtucket.

"Sort of the right time for them," Buchholz said, "and the wrong time for me."

Buchholz said he developed bleeding under the nail after throwing a two-seam fastball while warming up before the second inning of his last start, Monday night in Minnesota. He did not feel it while throwing his offspeed stuff, but it hurt when he threw his fastball.

It may have been a blessing in disguise," said Johnson of the rainout. "This off-day is much needed for our bullpen, so it worked out really well." The PawSox used three relievers in each of the last two games. "In this situation, the concern would have been starts and stops," Johnson said. "We couldn't defend that and we couldn't send the same (pitcher) out there."

Steven Krasner - Van Every promoted to Boston

"I wasn't expecting to play. It's definitely a great feeling. There have been many trials and tribulations," said Van Every, 27, who arrived in the clubhouse about two hours before the first pitch.

Van Every struck out in his first and third at-bats, but in between he hammered a single to center off Daniel Cabrera.

Steve Krasner - Red Sox place Clay Buchholz on disabled list

BALTIMORE -- Clay Buchholz felt the fingernail on the middle finger of his right hand tear when he threw a two-seamer on his second warmup pitch of the second inning in his start Monday night in Minnesota. The torn nail hurt his performance in that game, and he landed on the 15-day DL yesterday as much to help fortify the depleted outfield corps as anything.

Dan Schultz - Visalia shuts down the JetHawks

Both the Oaks and the JetHawks were locked in a pitching duel as the scoreboard showed all zeros through the first seven innings.

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In the bottom half of the eighth inning, Visalia's Steve Mena led off with a towering home run over the left field fence off Lancaster pitcher Jason Blackey to make it 1-0 Oaks.

Amalie Benjamin - Minor League Notebook: Place's place: leadoff spot; He's been getting promising results

For Place, who was drafted out of high school by the Red Sox in the first round in 2006, the problem has never been his power and offensive potential. There's plenty of that. It's been the strikeouts and plate discipline. Last season, in low Single A in his hometown of Greenville, S.C., Place struck out 160 times in 459 at-bats with 52 walks. For the Red Sox, that's not good enough.

This season, batting leadoff for high Single A Lancaster, the outfielder has 41 strikeouts in 132 at-bats and 13 walks. After making progress offensively during the winter in the Hawaii League, Place kept going in spring training before the illness and injuries interfered. He was hit in the face after the ball bounced off his bat while he was squaring to bunt April 8, causing a swollen cheek and blurry vision.

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Reliever Bryce Cox, 23, has been putting up good numbers in Greenville. After struggling in both Portland (4.91 ERA in nine games) and Greenville (5.40 ERA in 21 games) last season, Cox has allowed two earned runs in eight games spanning 14 innings. He has a 1.29 ERA, with 10 strikeouts and two walks. He has allowed 14 hits, but only three have been to lefthanders, who are hitting him at a .120 clip . . . The Nick Hagadone saga continues. Hagadone, the team's first pick in the 2007 draft, has not been able to see Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion on Tommy John surgery. If surgery is recommended, it can't be performed until an infection has cleared up. "I know he's been frustrated and we've been frustrated a bit," Hazen said . . . Hunter Jones was promoted to Triple A Pawtucket yesterday from Portland.

Dave McDonough - Trenton gets to Masterson, avoids sweep; Jason Jones fares better for the first-place Thunder, who had dropped two straight to Portland

The Thunder roughed up Sea Dogs starter Justin Masterson for seven runs on nine hits.

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I was really happy with the way I went about the game, the pitches I was making," said Masterson. "They were just putting the ball in the right place. I did what I wanted; it's just one of those tough games.

"But I felt good out there, and was making good pitches. Another night, the same feel, it could have been seven scoreless. That's the crazy thing about this game."

Kevin Thomas - New knuckler in Boston? Zink progresses with PawSox; Adding an old pitch to his arsenal gives the former Sea Dog a new outlook this season.

Toss out his first and last starts, and his ERA is 1.31 over six games.

But, of course, we must mention that last start. Zink allowed four runs and eight hits over six innings.

But all four runs came in the third inning, and Zink walked none.

"That might have been one of his better outings," said Pawtucket Manager Ron Johnson, who first saw Zink and his knuckleball when both were in Portland in 2003.

"Don't judge it by the linescore. In the third inning, his knuckleball was flat and he was getting hit hard. But you didn't see immaturity. You didn't see the mound presence go bad.

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Zink has spent parts of five seasons with the Sea Dogs. He should stick in Triple-A this year, with a slim chance for a promotion to Boston.

Either way, the Red Sox will have to make a decision about Zink after this year. He is eligible to become a minor league free agent, unless Boston puts him on the 40-man roster.

The timing seems right for Boston to make a commitment to Zink. Judging by the career of the Red Sox better-known knuckleball pitcher, Tim Wakefield, Zink may be just entering his prime.

"In the past, (Zink's) knuckleball was as good as Wakefield's," said catcher Dusty Brown. "It was a matter of being as consistent with it. He's doing that this year."

Kevin Thomas - Colon, Zink, Cox

Portland lost as Justin Masterson got hit (6 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 2 BB, 3 K) ... The Sea Dogs said good-bye to reliever Hunter Jones (1.19) after his promotion to Pawtucket (replacing promoted outfielder Jon Van Every on the roster) ... Reliever Carlos Vasquez, a minor league free agent from the White Sox organization, was promoted from Lancaster.

Lancaster got a 3-for-3 performance from outfielder Daniel Nava (.368 in 19 games). He also hit his 4th home run.

Reliever Bryce Cox shined in Greenville (2 IP, 4 K), lowering his ERA to 1.13.

Scott Van Voorhis - Fenway to host college, minor leagues

"Fenway Park is a hotbed for amateur baseball and Fenway Park is a venue steeped in baseball tradition," said Chuck Steedman, an FSG executive vice president.

Meanwhile, Fenway will host a minor-league doubleheader Aug. 9 - an event that has been a sellout during the past few years. The Lowell Spinners will square off against the Hudson Valley Renegades in the first game, followed by a matchup between the Pawtucket Red Sox and Charlotte Knights.

While the Sox hold center stage at Fenway, the minor-league doubleheaders and the ACC showdown are seen as ways of drawing new fans to the ballpark. The more economical price is one draw for these fans, many of whom do not regularly go to Sox games, Steedman said.

Dan Schultz - Oaks win close one; Visalia wins third straight after 4-3 victory over JetHawks

The JetHawks did out hit the Oaks 10-8 but stranded 10 runners and Visalia's pitching staff struck out 11 batters.

Lars Anderson led Lancaster with a home run and a double and teammate Chih-Hsien Chiang had two doubles to pace the JetHawks who fell to 17-24.

Rick Cleveland - Van Every's path to Sox hard to believe

Here's a guy who once transferred from Northwest Rankin to University Christian so he would have a better chance to play. Here's a guy, who signed with Ole Miss, was redshirted as a freshman and then unceremoniously cut.

Here's a guy who transferred to Itawamba Community College, switched positions from pitcher to center field and was drafted in the 29th round of the 2001 draft by the Cleveland Indians.

Here's a guy who spent seven full seasons and part of another in the minor leagues trying to prove he could hit big league pitching. Here's a guy who only five years ago hit .193 in low Class A ball.

And here's the guy who started in center field Wednesday afternoon for the Boston Red Sox.

Jeff Horrigan - Red Sox Notebook: Red Prospect Anthony Rizzo, 18, battles Hodgkin's lymphoma

The Red Sox [team stats] confirmed last night that minor leaguer Anthony Rizzo is being treated at Massachusetts General Hospital for limited stage classical Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The 18-year-old first baseman, who was a sixth-round draft choice last June, was batting .373 with 11 RBI at Greenville, but hasn't played since April 26.