WASHINGTON -- After giving up four homers in an abbreviated rehab start (2 2/3 innings) for Triple-A Pawtucket on Monday, Red Sox lefty Thomas Pomeranz is all but certain to make at least one more outing in the Minors before being activated.
It has been a tough season for Pomeranz, marred by injuries and ineffectiveness. He is serving his second stint on the DL, this one for left biceps tendinitis.
"Whatever the line says, he says he feels OK. I actually talked to [Pawtucket pitching coach Kevin Walker] today about a few things," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "Personally, I feel he needs to go down there and show that he's healthy and straighten up his mechanics. That's very important. We'll talk about it. From my end, and I'm not the GM or president of baseball operations, but it would be good to have another [start]."
Pomeranz is 1-3 with a 6.81 ERA in the eight starts he's made for the Red Sox this season. He last pitched for the club on May 31 at Houston. Even before his latest injury, Pomeranz was trying to iron out some mechanical issues. That work is ongoing.

"He feels great," said Cora. "Obviously a lot of off time in between starts. You guys know it's a grind for him to repeat his delivery. Hopefully in the next one he clears that up, he finds his release point and it will be a better one."
Christopher Johnson, who started Tuesday night's game for the Red Sox at Washington, is holding down a spot in the rotation until either Pomeranz or Steven Wright (right knee inflammation) can return.
Pedroia finding some positives
Though Dustin Pedroia doesn't have a timetable yet for when his left knee will be healed enough for him to play again, he is gaining some better recovery knowledge during his week-long visit at the training facility run by his surgeon, Dr. Riley Williams.
"Actually, I had a long text from him. It seems like they're finding stuff out that is actually on the positive side. The way the text was written, it seemed very positive," Cora said. "I tried to call him, but he was still with the doctor. And they're going through exercises and all that stuff and trying to figure out how they can maintain him on the field.
"It's not only about the knee; it's about the other stuff around the knee, his quad and all of that, and keeping him strong. We'll talk to him later on today and sit down with [trainer] Brad [Pearson] and [president of baseball operations] Dave [Dombrowski] and go from there. He's probably going to stay there the whole week, working out and see what happens. But, overall, positive."