Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Effective in short start

Winckowski allowed one run on two hits and two walks without striking out any batters over 4.1 innings in a no-decision against San Francisco on Thursday.

Winckowski's short outing can be explained by the fact that he began the campaign in a relief role and isn't stretched out to a starter's full workload. Still, the right-hander was able to give Boston 4.1 useful frames Thursday, with the only run against him coming on a third-inning Mike Yastrzemski solo homer. With Nick Pivetta (elbow) nearing a return to the rotation and and Brayan Bello (lat) not far behind, Winckowski could be moving back to a bullpen role relatively soon.