Boston starter Joe Kelly leaves game with shoulder injury

Boston Red Sox starter Joe Kelly appeared to be dealing with discomfort in his back or right shoulder in the first inning Tuesday night against Tampa Bay and was removed from the game after recording just two outs and throwing 23 pitches.

Replays showed Kelly grimaced after throwing one of his final pitches of the night, but he still managed to strike out Corey Dickerson before departing. Kelly was replaced on the mound by Heath Hembree.

[Giants fan leaves game in shame after making a huge mistake]

Boston later reported that Kelly had a shoulder impingement and his availability for his next start is uncertain.

The Boston pitching rotation already was facing uncertainty in the early going this season. Eduardo Rodriguez is on the disabled list with a knee injury and is on schedule to begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment soon with hopes of making his debut this season with Boston in early May.

Kelly hasn’t been at his best to start the season. He was 1-0 in two start with a 10.13 ERA prior to Tuesday. He had given up nine earned runs in eight innings and was in a jam after walking two men before leaving the game. Hembree got out of the situation he inherited from Kelly with a strikeout.

[Noah Syndergaard throws so hard he branded his catcher’s chest]

Knuckleballer Steven Wright has done well so far as the No. 5 starter and will now move up one spot in the rotation if Kelly needs to miss a start or spend time on the disabled list. Wright is 0-2 but he has a 2.13 ERA through 122/3 innings.

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Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo