Red Sox Pitcher Gabbard Has Wild Day

After being told early Sunday morning that he was being called up, Kason Gabbard quickly came from Rhode Island to Boston for the game. After waiting two hours to throw his first pitch of the season, he came out, and retired the first 12 of 13 batters he faced. He walked one and allowed six hits, and two earned runs, leaving with a 6-0 in the sixth inning. Brendan Donnelly, Javier Lopez, Hideki Okajima, and Jon Papelbon combined to throw three innings, giving up just one run. Tim Hudson struggled, giving up six runs before getting out of the fifth inning. After the game, he was optioned back to Triple-A to make room for Manny Delcarmen for the upcoming Yankees series. He seemed disappointed about being sent down and refused to comment on the game. But he was told he would definitely be back soon: "If we need some help, we didn't want to get caught short," Francona said. Gabbard, who was 3-1 with a 2.75 ERA in Triple-A this year, went 1-3 for Boston in 2006.