Foulke to Return to Boston for Tests

Red Sox closer Keith Foulke will leave the team and return to Boston to determine if a knee problem is the cause of his struggles. The disabled list is a possibility, Manager Terry Francona said.

“We think there’s a chance, but we want to let it run its course,” Francona said before Tuesday night’s game against the Texas Rangers. “He’ll never turn the ball down. He’ll take the ball every day. So I need to step in and say, ‘No, you won’t. We’re going to get you looked at.’ And I think he’s OK with that. I think he actually appreciated it.”

Foulke took the loss Monday night when the Rangers scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to beat Boston, 6-5. It was the fourth blown save of the season and his second in a week; he is 5-5 with a 6.23 earned-run average and 15 saves this season after a dominant postseason last year.

Foulke will fly to Boston today and have MRI exams on both knees, Francona said.

“I’ve had extensive talks with him, talks with [General Manager Theo Epstein], talks with our medical people,” Francona said. “This is a tough one. We’re having a tough time. He’s battling the knee, he feels responsible to pitch. But he’s not pitching with the effectiveness we want or need. So I kind of took it out of his hands a little bit.”

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Injured Red Sox ace Curt Schilling will probably need at least one more rehab start before returning to the Boston rotation.

“I think he needs to come here and throw [on the] side, then pitch a couple more times,” Francona said. “I think that’s more realistic than starting this weekend. I think that makes sense.”

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Brett Tomko, taken out of the rotation for one turn last week, will pitch Thursday for San Francisco in the finale of a four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds.

But the Giants are weighing what to do with struggling left-hander Kirk Rueter (2-7), whose winless stretch reached nine starts in Monday’s 11-10 loss. Manager Felipe Alou said the team had discussed “generalities about pitching,” but had yet to address Rueter’s situation in particular.

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The Arizona Diamondbacks reacquired one of their original players, agreeing to terms on a minor league contract with Vladimir Nunez.

The 30-year-old right-hander signed with Arizona on Feb. 1, 1996, two years before the expansion club went to its first spring training. He was released by St. Louis on Saturday.