There may be bad news on the horizon for the Boston Red Sox. Starting pitcher Josh Beckett made an early departure from Tuesday night’s contest against Detroit.

Providence Journal’s Brian MacPherson reported on the situation:

 

UPDATE: Tuesday, July 31, 9:05 p.m. ET by Eric Ball

Information is slowly coming out on the specific reason for Beckett’s early departure and Ian Browne of MLB.com confirms it was back spasms:

 

Beckett threw 49 pitches in 2.2 innings while allowing one run before coming out of the game. After mowing down the first eight Detroit Tigers, Beckett surrendered a single, hit a batter and gave up back-to-back walks.

On the final pitch to Miguel Cabrera in the second walk, he motioned for the Sox training staff to come to the mound. The trainer appeared to be focusing on the left side of his lower back before deeming him unable to keep pitching.

No word yet on how severe the injury is and if he’ll make his next scheduled start. 

 

———End of Update——–

 

An injury would be disappointing to the Red Sox faithful, but it’s not surprising. Beckett has only cleared the 200 inning threshold three times in his 11-year career, and he’s seemingly always on the disabled list. 

Beckett has been healthy so far this season, but one injury could be the start of an excruciating process. His body is fragile, and with his increasing age, he can’t bounce back like he’d prefer. Any minor strain could potentially lead to time on the injured list.

On paper, Beckett may not seem like a big loss. He’s 5-9 this year with an ERA over 4.50. He’s not the pitcher he once was, and his consistency comes and goes. Sometimes he looks “lights out.” Other times he looks extremely hittable.

Nonetheless, Boston is 23rd in the league in team ERA and 25th in quality starts. As bad as Beckett has been at times, they can’t afford to lose any arms at this crucial point in the season.

Knowing Beckett’s injury-plagued past, this situation is worth keeping an eye on. When we know more about the gravity of Beckett’s injury, so will you.

Stay tuned for more information.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com