Holt, Johnson to IL; Lin, Walden recalled

PHOENIX – The Red Sox placed infielder/outfielder Brock Holt and left-handed pitcher Brian Johnson on the 10-day injured list on Saturday and recalled infielder/outfielder Tzu-Wei Lin and reliever Marcus Walden from Triple-A Pawtucket.

Holt has a scratched cornea in his right eye that he sustained on the morning of Opening Day in Seattle. Johnson is dealing with left elbow inflammation.

“I went and got [two-year-old son Griffin] up out of bed and was bringing him to our bed, and one of his fingernails got me good,” Holt said. “I thought at the time, he just poked me in the eye, but the first two days in Seattle were rough. I was wearing sunglasses inside, I really couldn’t open my right eye.”

Holt, who is hitting .063 this season in 19 plate appearances, played on Friday night and went 0-for-4. He saw an eye doctor in Seattle and will see another doctor when the club returns to Boston.

“It’s something I’ve been dealing with for a little while now,” Holt said. “I thought it would get better, thought I could play through it, and it hasn’t really cleared up too much. Figured we’d take the 10 days and hopefully, by then, I’ll be able to see a little bit clearer.”

As for Johnson, he has allowed eight earned runs in 5 2/3 innings this season, while posting a 12.71 ERA in four appearances. He pitched 1 1/3 innings on Friday night and allowed seven earned runs -- including two home runs. He’ll also be evaluated again in Boston.

“I didn’t feel right on the mound yesterday. Just didn’t feel comfortable,” Johnson said. “It was more of a one-pitch thing and I just kept going. You feel like you’re out there, you just kind of have the adrenaline going. I know I felt like I needed to be out there.”

It’s the third injured-list stint of Johnson’s Major League career, but his first due to an elbow injury. He spent time on the injured list in 2018 with left hip inflammation and in '17 with a left shoulder impingement.

“It’s never easy when you get hurt, especially when you’re not doing well and feel like you could help,” Johnson said. “It’s frustrating for sure. “

Sunday starter

Hector Velazquez will likely start against the D-backs in the series finale Sunday, manager Alex Cora said.

“He started. He came in relief. He pitched in high-level situations and he was amazing for us,” the manager said of Velazquez. “We trust the guy. … We need zeros. We need him to pitch well. All outs are welcomed.”

It’s been the club’s plan all along to plug in a sixth starter on the last day of the 11-game road trip to give the five starters extra rest.

Chris Sale will pitch the home opener Tuesday against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park.

Dustin Pedroia (left knee) remains an option for the club's home opener. The veteran second baseman went 1-for-2 on Friday in five innings with Class A Greenville in his second rehab game with the club. He’ll play nine innings Sunday and the Red Sox will likely decide on his status Sunday night.

“We’ll see how he holds up or if he needs more innings,” Cora said. “So far, so good.”

He said it

“I’m like, ‘Joey, I’m good, brother. Relax.’ It’s always cool that so many people are worried about us. That’s part of the process. I keep telling the guys that we will be back, and we will play good baseball. In time we will look back on this road trip and go, ‘We were that bad.’” -- Cora on receiving texts from family and friends reminding him to have fun, and that baseball is just a game after the club’s 2-7 start.