Will Middlebrooks was pulled after the fourth inning in a game with the Cleveland Indians with lower back spasms. Middlebrooks struck out in the inning before. Middlebrooks has struggled during his sophomore year batting .203/ .236/ .413 with eight home runs and 21 RBI. he has struck out 52 times in 172 at-bats.
Red Sox utilityman Pedro Ciriaco took over for Middlebrooks and would likely see an increase in playing time should Middlebrooks require a few days off for a stint on the DL.
In his last three games, he’s 0-for-10 with one walk and five strikeouts, bringing his line for the season to a .201 average, .234 OBP and .408 slugging mark.
Middlebrooks has been dealing with pain the result of a separation of his ribs from the cartilage connecting them to sternum from a collision earlier this month with catcher David Ross.
