Tazawa worked around two hits in a scoreless eighth inning against the Yankees on Monday for his 16th hold.

EDGE Analysis

Apparently, the hip ailment he's suffering from isn't serious enough to keep Tazawa off the field for the last-place Red Sox. Tazawa certainly didn't look overpowering in this one, but considering that Jean Machi looked horrendous in the ninth, this could continue to be a fluid closing situation.

Tazawa (hip) has been removed from the Red Sox's closer role, CSN New England reports.

EDGE Analysis

Tazawa's last appearance came in extra innings Friday, allowing four walks and a hit before injuring his hip and exiting. Jean Machi will take over the closer duties from him moving forward, while he will move into a setup role for the Red Sox.

Tazawa is dealing with a sore right hip and groin after twisting awkwardly to field a come-backer Friday night, the Boston Globe reports. He's expected to be able to pitch Sunday.

EDGE Analysis

Jean Machi served as Boston's closer in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Mets. Even without the discomfort in Tazawa's hip/groin, he may not have pitched Saturday after throwing 30 pitches Friday night.

Tazawa picked up a hold by being pulled from a save opportunity after he allowed a run on one hit and four walks while recording just two outs.

EDGE Analysis

Tazawa was awful - throwing just 11 of 28 pitches for strikes and giving up a run to cut the Red Sox' lead to two before Craig Breslow came in to finish off the the win. He has been erratic for the past couple of months, and that has been magnified since he was named closer following Koji Uehara being declared out for the rest of the season. Tonight he is the closer, and since Jean Machi and Alexi Ogando have also struggled, he may be in the morning as well, but there are no guarantees. Looking for a darkhorse candidate for saves? Perhaps you can consider Heath Hembree who has considerable experience as a closer in the minors. His career has been clouded by command issues, but he could hardly be worse than what they have been getting.

Tazawa made his first appearance in a week, walking one and striking out one in a scoreless inning in Sunday's win over the Astros. Tazawa was noticeably absent in the series against the Blue Jays and then unavailable for use Friday, leading to speculation in the Boston Globe that he was dealing with shoulder fatigue.

Tazawa was not able to pitch Friday night because he had thrown a bullpen session earlier in the day, the Providence Journal reports. Tazawa had been given the Toronto series off and the Red Sox didn't want him taking the mound before having him throw a side session. That's a decision that proved costly, as the Red Sox were forced to use rookie Noe Ramirez in the 10th inning against the Houston Astros. The rookie allowed four runs (two earned) on three hits and a hit batsman.

Tazawa contributed to Boston's bullpen meltdown Friday night, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits without retiring a batter in the Jays' 13-10 win. Matt Barnes started the inning by allowing three hits without recording an out, and Boston's primary set-up man then came on and added fuel to the fire. Between them they allowed eight runs (seven earned) without recording an out in a nine-run seventh inning that propelled the struggling Red Sox to an ugly loss.

Tazawa has allowed three homers in his last five appearances. He hasn't thrown a clean inning in his last six appearances. Tazawa, Boston's Sox primary set up man, was skipped Tuesday night in favor of Alexi Ogando. This is probably more to do with Tazawa having pitched the night before -- and needing 29 pitches -- but it's worth noting his recent stretch.

Tazawa pitched a scoreless inning Wednesday night to earn his fifth hold of the season in a win over Toronto. A nice outing for Tazawa against a team that's owned him over the years. He shook off a two-appearance run in which he's been scored upon. In 11 appearances this season, Tazawa's struck out 11 and walked one in 10.2 innings.

Tazawa pitched a scoreless inning in Boston's 19-inning win over the Yankees on Friday. He's had two scoreless appearances to start the season. Tazawa did what he's done many times -- pitched the eighth inning and teed up the save for a Boston closer. Only this time, Edward Mujica was unable to live up to the title of "closer."