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Boston Red Sox starter Ranger Suarez suddenly exited Sunday’ s game against the Houston Astros in the latest blow to the team’s starting rotation.

Boston Red Sox starter Ranger Suarez exited Sunday’s game against the Houston Astros with an apparent injury, in what could potentially be a third starter lost from the Red Sox rotation.

Boston Globe correspondent Alex Speier reported the unexplained decision for Suarez to leave the scoreless game after just 70 pitches.

“Just to recap the Red Sox Opening Day rotation: (Garrett) Crochet – IL, (Sonny) Gray – IL, (Connelly) Early – solid to date, but said he ‘didn’t feel like myself’ in Saturday’s start, Suarez – pitching brilliantly, but left today’s start, presumably due to an injury, Brayan Bello – might be a bulk-innings guy with an ERA north of 9,” Speier recounted on his social media account.

The Globe reporter then allowed for the possibility that something else was wrong with Suarez.

“I suppose it could also be an illness for Suarez (still waiting for that update),” the Globe reporter wrote. “Still: The team’s blueprint keeps getting crumpled.”

With Crochet and Gray already down, Boston’s pitching depth, assembled at significant cost this offseason, is being stress-tested in a way no one anticipated this early in the season.

Suarez Exits After 4 Shutout Innings vs. Astros

Suarez was sharp Sunday, retiring the Astros without a run and surrendering just three hits through four complete innings. He walked out to the mound to begin the fifth, then walked back off without throwing a pitch. Tyler Samaniego came on in relief, according to Channel 7 Sports reporter Ari Alexander.

Suarez had thrown 70 pitches when he departed. At that pace, his afternoon was just getting started, which made the sudden exit all the more jarring for Boston fans at Fenway Park.

“Not good,” wrote Section 10 podcast co-host Tyler Milliken on X. “Ranger Suarez is done after only 70 pitches and 4 shutout innings. The Red Sox are out of starting pitching depth with Sonny Gray and Garrett Crochet both hurt. Speechless at this point.”

No official injury designation was announced immediately, leaving the nature of the exit unclear. As of the sixth innings, the team had not confirmed whether the departure was precautionary or the result of something more serious.

Suarez’s Red Sox Season Was Gaining Momentum

Suarez had been one of the few bright spots in a turbulent stretch for the franchise. Just days earlier, on April 28, he delivered eight scoreless innings against the Toronto Blue Jays, his season-best outing, while punching out 10 and keeping Toronto hitless through five frames, according to MLB.com‘s Zach Worden.

That performance lowered his ERA to 3.09 on the year in his debut Boston campaign. Sunday’s start came after that Blue Jays gem.

Suarez signed with Boston this past January on a five-year, $130 million contract, with MLB.com‘s Ian Browne reporting the club viewed him as a cornerstone of a rotation built around Crochet, Gray, Brayan Bello and Johan Oviedo. He brought a six-pitch arsenal and the lowest hard-hit rate among all MLB starters in 2025 at 31.1 percent.

Boston Red Sox Rotation Depth Now a Mounting Concern

The Red Sox entered 2026 with one of the most expensive rotations in baseball. Now, with Crochet and Gray already unavailable, a Suarez IL stint — should one materialize — would strip the club of three of its projected top four arms simultaneously.

Interim manager Chad Tracy, who took over following the dismissal of Alex Cora a week ago, now faces a rotation puzzle with few clean answers. The depth pieces behind the top starters include Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval and Kyle Harrison, along with prospects Connelly Early and Payton Tolle.

A full injury update on Suarez is expected after the game concludes. Given what is already missing from this rotation, the Red Sox will be monitoring Suarez closely.