Beckett's next start pushed back to Friday

Instead of pitching on Wednesday against the Blue Jays, Red Sox starter Josh Beckett will take the mound on Friday against the Tigers, according to Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe.

Tim Wakefield will pitch tomorrow.

Beckett, who was taking batting practice, suffered some back spasms and will get his back checked out.

“We’ll get him checked out in the morning,’’ [manager Terry] Francona said. “He had a stiff back the other day a little bit, and he was kind of starting to swing the bat and he felt it and it grabbed him a little bit. We’ll get him checked out.’’

On the season, Beckett has an ERA of 7.46, a WHIP of 1.66 and opposing batters are hitting .311 against him. He's allowed five (or more) earned runs in four of his seven starts.

Wakefield to DL, Buchholz to start Wednesday

The Boston Red Sox have placed All-Star Tim Wakefield on the 15-day disabled list with a lower back strain.

To replace Wakefield on the roster and in the rotation, the Red Sox have recalled Clay Buchholz from Pawtucket

“Any day in the big leagues is a better day than in the minor leagues,’’ Buchholz said. “I’m happy to be here. I’ll go after them and see what happens.’’

"He pitched good the other day,’’ Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “As an organization, I think we’re pretty fortunate that something like this can happen and we can have a guy like Clay ready to pitch.’’

Buchholz, who went 2-9 with an ERA of 6.75 last year, will get the ball tomorrow night against the Texas Rangers and Vicente Padilla.

Wakefield will be eligible to come off the DL on August 2nd, which means Buchholz will get at least two starts.