PAWTUCKET –– The day that Clay Buchholz has been waiting for finally came on Sunday when the Red Sox told him that he would be promoted to Boston.

Buchholz will start Friday's game in Toronto.

After going 7-2 with a 2.36 E.R.A. with Pawtucket, including Sunday's 5-4 loss to Syracuse, the Red Sox called his number.

It seems like it has been a long time coming for Buchholz, who in 2007 was predicted to be Boston’s next great pitcher after he went 3-1 with a 1.59 E.R.A., including a no-hitter against Baltimore.

But Buchholz went 2-9 with a 6.75 E.R.A. in 15 starts in 2008 before being demoted to Double-A Portland

“I put a lot of it on myself for the season last year, and I know that’s how things go. But opportunities come up, and I’m glad I was the guy that they went to for it,” Buchholz said. “I’ll take it if it’s just one start. If I’m up there for one start and then back down here, that’s definitely a step in the right direction. I guess I’ll take it day-by-day after this one start and we’ll see where it leads me.”

“I think it’s a good opportunity for him,” Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson said.

Buchholz said he was thankful that the decision came on Sunday, so he would have a few days to digest the news and not be nervous about returning to the major-league level.

“I remember when I got called up in ’07 and it was the day before, and I couldn’t go to sleep that night and I had everybody calling me,” Buchholz said. “At least I’ve been there before and I know what to expect. It’s a lot better knowing that I’ve actually pitched in Toronto a couple of times already. I know the atmosphere, and it’s going to be a fun day for me. I’m going to go out there and pitch like I’ve been pitching here. … It’s going to be a fun day.”

Buchholz said he is not going to go pitch with the mind-set that he has something to prove.

“I’ve been with the organization for four years now and I’ve shown things that I can do, and I’ve shown how it goes when things go wrong. So, like I said, I’m going to go out there and stay confident, throw the pitches that I want to throw like I've been doing here, and for the most part it has worked out pretty well for me here."

Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who announced the move after the Sox’ 6-0 victory over the Royals on Sunday at Fenway Park, said it only makes sense to have Buchholz getting the ball on Friday.

“It sets up our rotation a little bit,” said Francona. “We wanted to be consistent with our guys’ rest.”

The Sox have July 23 off, so the move will allow an extra day for the entire starting rotation. Brad Penny will follow Buchholz on Saturday, with Jon Lester going in the series finale in Toronto on Sunday. In Texas, John Smoltz will pitch Monday, Josh Beckett on Tuesday and Tim Wakefield on Wednesday before the off-day.

It’s also interesting that Toronto is shopping its ace, Roy Halladay, and Buchholz is one of the players the Blue Jays would be interested in acquiring as part of a trade. This may look like an audition to some, and maybe it is, but the Red Sox stretched out their rotation in the same way before and after the break last summer.

“We wanted to see Buch pitch, too,” said Francona. “There are just a lot of reasons for it. Coming out of the break that is typically a tough game, especially when you have four days off, so I think there is some validity to give Buch the ball and let him go.”

Since Buchholz pitched for the PawSox on Sunday, this Friday will be his normal day to work.

Gimme a break!

The PawSox are thankful that the All-Star break is here.

Pawtucket is 2-8 so far in July, and the PawSox batters are hitting only .190, while their pitchers are 2-8 with a 4.58 E.R.A. this month.

For the season, the PawSox are batting .230, and the pitching staff owns a team E.R.A. of 3.60. The PawSox hope to get refocused during the break and get ready to make a run in the second half of the year.

Immediately following the All-Star break, Pawtucket will play 25 games in 24 consecutive days. The PawSox’ next scheduled day off is Aug. 9.

Large change

T.J. Large transferred from Portland to Pawtucket yesterday, replacing right-handed pitcher Radnor Bierd (1-0, 5.06 E.R.A.), who was put on the temporary inactive list.

Large, 26, was 3-0 with eight saves and had a 1.08 E.R.A. in 34 outings for Portland. Opponents were batting .207 against him in 41.2 innings pitched.

Bierd had been struggling with Pawtucket. The 25-year-old reliever has allowed at least one run in five of his last seven outings, going 0-0 with an 8.00 E.R.A. (9 innings pitched, 10 hits, 9 runs, 8 earned runs, 9 walks, and 6 strikeouts).

roblee@projo.com / jmcdonal@projo.com