Nick Pivetta, Sunday’s scheduled starter, placed on COVID-19 IL

The Red Sox added another player to the COVID-19 related injured list on Sunday.

Pitcher Nick Pivetta was placed on the injured list just hours before he was scheduled to start Sunday’s game against the Indians. Right-handed pitcher Kutter Crawford will be called up from Triple-A Worcester and will make his MLB debut on Sunday, starting in place of Pivetta.

With Pivetta getting added to the COVID-19 related IL, the Red Sox now have 10 players who are out due to COVID. Of those 10, eight of them have tested positive for COVID-19 (Xander Bogaerts, Kiké Hernández, Matt Barnes, Christian Arroyo, Hirokazu Sawamura, Martin Pérez, and Yairo Muñoz) while reliever Josh Taylor is out due to being a close contact. It’s unknown if Pivetta was added to the list due to testing positive or for being a close contact.

Quality control coach Ramón Vázquez and strength and conditioning coach Kiyoshi Momose have also tested positive, while first base coach Tom Goodwin is quarantining due to being a close contact.

In 26 starts this season, Pivetta has a 9-7 record with a 4.67 ERA. He struggled in his last three starts, allowing four earned runs in each game and 12 earned runs over 11.2 innings pitched.

Crawford, who was drafted by the Red Sox in the 17th round of the 2017 MLB Draft, has split time between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester this season. The 25-year-old is 5-5 in 16 games (15 starts) with a 4.16 ERA. In his most recent start, Crawford allowed just one unearned run on one hit with eight strikeouts and zero walks over six innings pitched against the Buffalo Bisons.

Sunday’s late switch comes in the midst of four straight impressive outings from Red Sox starters. Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Nathan Eovaldi all had quality starts while Tanner Houck pitched five scoreless innings against the Indians on Sunday. The Red Sox are 4-0 over that stretch.

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