On Wednesday, Red Sox lefthander Rich Hill left the game against the White Sox clutching at his left elbow. Preliminary reports said that the damage wasn’t serious, however, today the Boston Globe reports bad news for Hill and the Red Sox:

Lefthanded reliever Rich Hill, who left yesterday’s game clutching his arm, has a serious injury according to a major league source and is likely to require season-ending surgery.

Hill and the Red Sox will seek a second opinion, but the MRI taken yesterday indicated what seemed obvious as he walked off the mound.

Hill had shoulder surgery two years ago, as part of a comeback; he had been let go by the Cubs, for whom he had a solid season in 2007, helping lead them to the NL Central title. Hill is a Boston-area native and his performance in the Red Sox bullpen — up to yesterday — had been one of their feel-good stories of the season.

Worse for Boston may be this: Hill was their only lefthanded reliever. You can bet that Theo Epstein will be working the phones trying to acquire someone soon.