Boston righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka had Tommy John surgery in 2011, did all the prescribed rehab and worked his way back to the Red Sox rotation last month.

He made five starts. Only two of them could be charitably described as “decent”, and Monday night against the Athletics in Oakland, Matsuzaka had more trouble with his body:

In the days leading up to the start, Matsuzaka had been bothered by discomfort in his neck and didn’t throw a side session. He was confident he could get through it and give his team a chance to win.

As it turns out, he didn’t even come close, and the Red Sox suffered a 6-1 loss to the A’s.

Matsuzaka pitched one-plus inning, giving up four hits and five runs while walking two and striking out none and throwing a career-low 28 pitches.

And it wasn’t just his neck bothering him:

The injury is a recurrence of the soreness the right-hander felt in his trap muscle while he was in Triple-A in late May.

So this should come as no surprise:

Daisuke Matsuzaka back on DL to make room for Mauro Gomez.

— Nick Cafardo (@nickcafardo) July 3, 2012

Gomez, a first baseman, was acquired by the Red Sox as a six-year minor-league free agent this past offseason. He appeared in two games for Boston earlier this year, going 0-for-2. (Though he did hit .311/.366/.614 in 72 games at Triple-A Pawtucket.)

Sounds like a summary of Boston’s season.

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