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The Yankees have been handed a major boost for their Wild Card series against the Red Sox, with one of Boston's top pitchers set to be sidelined.
The series begins in New York on Tuesday, with Games 2 and 3 (if necessary) scheduled for the following two days.
But Red Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito, who was expected to start a potential Game 3, has been ruled out for the series with an elbow injury.
The update comes after Giolito went to be examined by Dr. Jeffrey Dugas, who repaired the ulnar collateral ligament in Giolito's right elbow with internal brace surgery on March 12 last year.
'He´s been battling with his elbow the last few days, and today he went to see Dr. Dugas,' Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Monday. 'Hopefully it´s nothing major, but he won´t be ready for this one.'
A 31-year-old right-hander, Giolito had been expected to start the third game of the best-of-three series on Thursday, following Garrett Crochet (18-5) and Brayan Bello (11-9) in Boston's rotation.
Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito has been ruled out for the AL Wild Card round
The news will come as a boost to the Yankees and their manager Aaron Boone
Giolito had his ulnar collateral ligament repaired with internal brace surgery last year
Left-handers Connelly Early (1-2) and Kyle Harrison, who was 1-1 with San Francisco before being traded to Boston, are candidates to replace Giolito in Game 3.
While Giolito was healthy enough to make 26 starts this year, his average fastball velocity dropped steadily in the final month of the regular season, from 93.9 mph on Aug. 26 at Arizona to 92.1 mph in his final start at Toronto on Sept. 23.
He was 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA in four September starts after going 3-0 with a 2.39 ERA in six August appearances.
'I believe he was fighting it. He was going to throw a bullpen during the week, and we had to cut it short,' Cora said. 'After Saturday, Sunday, he didn´t look too good, especially yesterday.'
Giolito was 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 26 starts this season. He also had Tommy John surgery in 2012.
And he's not the only key player who will be out for Boston this series.
Outfielder Roman Anthony, who hit .292 in 71 games this year, remains out with an oblique injury, while infielder Marcelo Mayer has been out since July with a wrist injury.
Game 1 is at 6:08pm ET on Tuesday.
