The Final 9

By Ian Browne / MLB.com

BALTIMORE -- First, the Red Sox breathed a sigh of relief. Then on Friday they went through the procedure of placing unbeaten starter Daisuke Matsuzaka on the 15-day disabled list -- retroactive to Wednesday -- with a mild strain of his right rotator cuff.
An MRI performed on Matsuzaka on Friday in Boston revealed no structural damage. The Red Sox are optimistic that Matsuzaka will be able to pitch right around the time he's eligible to come off the DL, which is June 12.

"There was no structural changes, which is really good news," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "The final diagnosis is a mild deltoid rotator cuff strain. The best way we can see to attack this is, we'll DL him, take the time down, strengthen, get him ready to pitch the rest of the season. That's kind of where we are."

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