As left-hander Roenis Elias stepped to the Fenway Park mound for the first time as a member of the Boston Red Sox in the first inning of Friday night's 8-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners, the anticipation was palpable as president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski wondered if the 27-year-old would be the answer as the rotation's fifth starter. 

Despite his recent demolition of Triple-A opposition, however, Elias proved throughout his tumultuous outing that he was not the correct response to the question of "Who will be the Red Sox fifth starter for the remainder of the season?" 

Roenis Elias hammered by Seattle

The former Seattle starter yielded seven runs on seven hits and a trio of walks in four poor innings of work, with Mariners left fielder Franklin Gutierrez hammering him for two home runs and a career-high six RBI. 

Roenis Elias' ERA now sits at 15.88 after his rough outing against Seattle | AP
Roenis Elias' ERA now sits at 15.88 after his rough outing against Seattle | AP

Before the night had finished, Elias had earned himself a demotion back to the minors, thrusting old friend Clay Buchholz back into the starting rotation for Wednesday night's matchup against the Chicago White Sox.

Clay Buchholz regains slot in rotation

Just as Boston fans ultimately expected, Buchholz received the call from the bullpen as the Red Sox are in dire need of some consistency from the final spot in their string of arms, something the Texan was unable to provide them in his first 10 starts with the team in 2016. 

In those performances, Buchholz compiled a 6.35 ERA (a step above the horrendous 7.18 ERA that the Red Sox have received from the fifth spot in their rotation thus far), while allowing 59 hits and 12 home runs in 56.2 innings of work, losing his starting role after letting up six runs on seven hits and three homers in five innings in an 8-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies on May 26. 

However, after being sent to the bullpen rather than placed on the 15-day disabled list after confirming to the media of his perfect health, Buchholz' velocity and command improved. 

He managed to garner a stellar 2.89 ERA in 9.1 innings of work, motivating manager John Farrell to give him another opportunity to prove himself as a legitimate starter with the team sitting just a game behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East

The nine-year veteran was especially proficient in his last relief outing as he pitched three innings of two-hit, shutout ball while striking out four batters in the Red Sox 5-1 loss to the Orioles on Thursday, his fastball reaching 94 mph. 

Handing Buchholz some confidence is the fact that his most impressive start of the season came against the White Sox on May 4. 

Entering the contest with an 0-3 record, Buchholz limiting what had been a surging Chicago squad to two runs on three hits in seven innings, striking out a season-high six batters while recording his first win of the season. 

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About the author
Liam OBrien
Just a Boston man who loves sports. Oh, and writing is kind of a priority.