Projo Sports Blog

John Smoltz apparently will be the next member of the Boston Red Sox to rehab at McCoy Stadium.

It appears, according to what Smoltz himself is saying, that he will pitch at McCoy Friday night against Louisville and then again on June 11, at Syracuse, before making his debut for Boston.

The former Cy Young winner, who is being brought back slowly by the Sox after arm surgery (torn labrum), pitched five strong innings Sunday for Class-A Greenville. He allowed four hits and one run with six strikeouts and no walks.

Afterward, he told reporters about his planned schedule: He said he was headed for Detroit to meet the Red Sox, who begin a series against the Tigers on Tuesday night. He expects to then head to Pawtucket to make two starts. If he maintains a normal schedule with four days off, that would set his first PawSox start for Friday night.

Smoltz pointed to June 16 as a possible return to Boston, a Tuesday night in Fenway Park against Florida. Five days after that would be his next, tentative start, which would be a Sunday afternoon game in Boston against Atlanta, the team for which he won 210 games over the past two decades.

"I believe I can do this," Smoltz told the Greenville News. "It's going to require patience on everyone's part, but it's been built in with the way (Boston) has approached it. I could have been ready a month ago, two months ago, maybe. They saw fit to say, 'We won't need you until June or July.'

 Tags  Boston Red Sox John Smoltz Pawtucket Red Sox

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