BOSTON - According to his history, Red Sox starter Walker Buehler knows the difference between a serious arm injury and a minor setback. After initially worrying about how he felt on his shoulders over the past few weeks, he was glad that his current illness falls into the latter category.

Buller, who was placed on the 15-day injury list Friday due to cystitis on the shoulder, said he said Sunday morning that he only hopes to miss two or three games before returning to Boston to rotate. His absence will be backed up for former Diedger, who admitted that he was very concerned about the discomfort at first, saying it started on April 15th against the Rays in Tampa.

"It feels very similar to the only other shoulder thing in my career, and it's not a good thing or an open thing," Bugler said. Bugler declined to further detail his previous shoulder injury. "It's a third grade tear. I'm just worried that it's more than before, fortunately.

"I'm a guy who's been through a lot of things. The fact is just osmosis, I have to keep going, which is embarrassing me. I think that in a week you have to check something to start a major league game, I can't do that. I think that's right.

Buller (2015 and August 2022), who had undergone Tommy John twice, missed the time to avoid it due to microfractures in ribs, hips and blisters. But shoulders are never a serious problem. It’s normal for pitchers to have sore elbows and shoulders, especially early in a season, but Buller said he knew this instance represented something more when his recent start and side lessons couldn’t “pass the ball.” He has played three games since he first felt the problem on Tampa and said it became too much when he rebounded on his last outing in Cleveland last Saturday.

"It's one thing to not be able to play for a day or two, but we went into days 3 and 4 and I couldn't throw the ball," Buller said. I wanted to make sure there was nothing structurally and then there was obviously a little cystitis. As far as shoulders are concerned, they should be as small as possible.

He added: “There are some things you just keep going.”

Buehler's injury comes as he strides forward in Boston. His first two starts (8.68 ERA), the right hand was marked nine times but has done a good job in the past few weeks, recording 22 strikeouts in 24 innings in the last four games. While the shoulder problem didn't stop Buehler from pitching well, he knew it's worth solving now. He knew very well that if it was the playoffs, he would be injured.

“I’m happy with my past four,” Buller said. "Obviously, it's not the time you want to get into il, it feels pretty good. At the end of the day, I was playing in Boston in October, and I tried to get these things to bed now so I can improve throughout the season. That's the right idea. It's something I want for two or four months and what I want to deal with is that I'd rather keep working with me.

Buehler has had an MRI in recent days and has received an injection to calm the capsule. He was shut down for three days but hopes to play on Monday when the team is closed. If all goes well, he can continue working later this week and start a rise in potential returns around May 14, when he was eligible for activation for the first time.

"My MRI and shoulder quality still turned out to be very good," Buller said. "It's a little more than I used to have a capsule. The joints started to move in different ways, and things felt weird and pressed on different things."