Red Sox scratch David Price (left wrist) from Friday start against Yankees

BOSTON --- David Price has been scratched from his Friday start against the Yankees.

The Red Sox left-hander experienced tightness in his wrist following his regular bullpen session on Wednesday. Price is fresh off the injured list and threw 45 pitches in a 4-3 win over the Angels on Sunday. His last outing at Fenway Park came on July 30 against the Rays.

"He saw a specialist yesterday and he’s not going to start tomorrow," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. [...]

BOSTON --- David Price has been scratched from his Friday start against the Yankees.

The Red Sox left-hander experienced tightness in his wrist following his regular bullpen session on Wednesday. Price is fresh off the injured list and threw 45 pitches in a 4-3 win over the Angels on Sunday. His last outing at Fenway Park came on July 30 against the Rays.

“He saw a specialist yesterday and he’s not going to start tomorrow,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “It’s not as bad as the first one, but we’re not going to throw him out there just to make a start.”

Price carried a 3.16 earned-run average through his July 14 start against the Dodgers. His next four turns were all Boston defeats, as Price allowed 30 hits and 20 earned runs in just 17 innings. The last of that miserable quartet came against New York, a 7-4 defeat on Aug. 4 in which Price lasted just 2 2/3 innings.

“I’m not going to throw David out there without the changeup and the cutter,” Cora said. “He can throw fastballs in, fastballs away, but he’s not going to compete like that. I don’t want him to compete like that.”

Price was placed on the 10-day injured list immediately following that start and had a cortisone shot to treat a cyst in his wrist. It was his second stint out of action this season – he also missed more than two weeks in May with left elbow tendinitis.

Boston’s hope is Price will miss just one turn through the rotation and possibly take the ball during a three-game series at Toronto next week. Price is 14-1 with a 3.16 ERA in 19 career starts at Rogers Centre.

“I’m not going to put a timetable,” Cora said. “As soon as he feels well he’ll throw a bullpen and we’ll go from there.”

The Red Sox will stage back-to-back bullpen days to open the four-game series with the Yankees, an unusual bit of scheduling that wraps into Monday night. Rick Porcello will start on Sunday and Eduardo Rodriguez will bid for his 18th victory of the season on Monday. Jhoulys Chacin – signed as a free agent after the Brewers released him in August – could serve as the opener on Friday.

“We’ve got to get through five,” Cora said. “If we get through five – however we map it out – then we know we have our guys for the last few innings and we’re in good shape.”

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @BillKoch25