Red Sox Series Finale Rained Out, Robbie Ross, Jr. Placed on DL, Xander Boegarts on Bereavement List

 BOSTON (AP) _ The series finale between the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates scheduled for Thursday has been rained out.
        The teams will make up the game on April 13 at Fenway Park.

        Lefty Eduardo Rodriguez had been scheduled to face Pirates right-hander Chad Kuhl.

        The Red Sox won the first two games of the series, including a 3-0 win in 12 innings on Wednesday night.

Red Sox news release…

BOSTON, MA – The Boston Red Sox placed left-handed pitcher Robbie Ross Jr. on the 10-day disabled list (retroactive to April 3) with influenza. To fill his spot on the 25-man roster, infielder Deven Marrero was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket.

President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski made the announcement.

Ross, 27, has not appeared in the club’s first two games this season. The left-hander, who made his third consecutive Opening Day roster in 2017, was unavailable for last night’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates due to the flu. Last year, Ross averaged a career-best 9.11 strikeouts per nine innings (56 SO/55.1 IP) over his 54 relief appearances for Boston. In addition, he held left-handed hitters to a .188 average (15-for-80), the eighth-lowest mark among all American League pitchers in 2016 (minimum 95 batters faced). For his major league career, Ross has gone 16-12 with six saves, a 3.83 ERA (137 ER/321.2 IP), and 265 strikeouts in 258 games (12 starts) between the Texas Rangers (2012-14) and Red Sox (2015-16).

Marrero, 26, enters his sixth professional season since being drafted by the Red Sox in the first round of the 2012 June Draft (24th overall). In 23 Grapefruit League games this spring, he posted a .302 batting average (13-for-43) with six runs scored, three doubles, four RBI, and a .375 on-base percentage. Since making his major league debut for Boston in 2015, the Miami native has gone 13-for-65 (.300) with eight runs scored and one home run in 38 big league games, appearing defensively at third base (17 games), shortstop (10 games), and second base (nine games). In 484 minor league games, the infielder has a .246 average (453-for-1,842) with 246 runs, 88 doubles, seven triples, 17 home runs, 165 RBI, and 89 stolen bases.

The Boston Red Sox will place shortstop Xander Bogaerts on the bereavement list tomorrow, Friday, April 7, prior to the club’s game against the Detroit Tigers at 1:10 p.m. at Comerica Park. In a corresponding move, the Red Sox will recall infielder Marco Hernandez from Triple-A Pawtucket.

Bogaerts, 24, started each of the Red Sox’ first two games of the 2017 season, going 2-for-9 with a pair of stolen bases. He started the 2016 All-Star Game at shortstop for the American League and earned his second consecutive Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award, setting career highs in games (157), runs (115), home runs (21), RBI (89), walks (58), and steals (13). A native of Aruba, Bogaerts leads the Red Sox in games (459), hits (519), and runs (259) since the start of the 2015 season.

Hernandez, 24, entered the 2017 season ranked by Baseball America as the Red Sox’ No. 8 prospect. In 22 Grapefruit League games this spring, he batted .377 (23-for-61) with a 1.105 OPS and led the club in doubles (8) and triples (5). The Dominican Republic native made his major league debut in 2016, appearing in 40 games and making 10 starts over five stints with the Red Sox. He hit .294 (15-for-51) for Boston and led Pawtucket with a .309 batting average (69-for-223) last season.