BOSTON — Not only do the Red Sox need a starter for Tuesday’s game against the Royals since Clay Buchholz is on the disabled list, the club’s bullpen took a big hit yesterday, too.

The Red Sox have decided to shut down reliever Hideki Okajima for a few days due to a sore left wrist. The news couldn’t have come at a worse time for Boston. Because of today’s doubleheader and questions still regarding the rotation, the Red Sox will have to get creative and hope for the offense to carry a huge load over the next couple of days.

No transaction is imminent at this point.

The Red Sox decided to rest Okajima for precautionary reasons. The left-hander has been complaining of discomfort for a few days, but the gutsy southpaw attempted to pitch through it.

He relieved Craig Hansen with two outs and the bases loaded in the seventh inning Wednesday at Baltimore and surrendered a grand slam to the Orioles’ Jay Payton. Prior to that, he worked 9 2/3 scoreless innings in the previous eight games.

Okajima has allowed nine of the last 10, and 11 of the last 14 overall inherited runners to score.

Scheduling dilemma

The Red Sox had almost no options in rescheduling last night’s game.

It is Milwaukee’s only trip to Boston. Today’s game is locked in at 3:55 p.m. because it is a nationally televised Fox game. Tomorrow was not a possibility for separate-admission games because rules dictate that no game can begin after 5 p.m. to avoid conflict with ESPN’s Sunday night national telecast.

The only way to play two tomorrow would be as a single-admission doubleheader, a situation that would cost the team money.

As it is, the situation is touchy. If the first game today goes long, the second game might not start at 8:35, as planned. Workers need about 45 minutes to an hour to clean up sufficiently after a game, said John Blake, the team’s vice president for media relations.

Thus, if the opener tomorrow goes four hours and does not end until 8 p.m. it likely will be closer to 9 p.m. before the second game can begin.

If it goes even longer, fans will simply be asked to wait outside, after the first game ends, to allow workers to do some cleaning.

Tickets for last night’s game will be used for the 8:35 game today.

Medical report

Ailing Red Sox center fielder Coco Crisp, who came out of Tuesday’s game complaining of illness, was examined by the club’s medical staff yesterday morning, and everything came back negative. Francona said Crisp feels better, but he’s still not 100 percent.

“Whatever happened to him, hit him pretty hard,” said the manager. “He doesn’t feel like he’s going to be sick or anything like that. He’s is getting better.”

Prior to last night’s rainout, both J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo were scheduled to be back in the lineup last night for the Red Sox in the opener of a seven-game homestand.

Lugo, who missed the second-half of the recent road trip with a minor concussion, was cleared by the Sox medical staff Thursday.

Drew, who rolled his wrist attempting to make a catch Tuesday night in Baltimore, is back, too, playing his customary right field.

Illness hits minor-leaguer

Red Sox minor-league first baseman Anthony Rizzo has been diagnosed with limited stage classical Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The Red Sox released a statement last night, saying the 18-year-old is being treated as an outpatient at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Oncology Unit. Rizzo will return home to Miami in the next few days to continue his treatment, which is expected to take 6-8 months, according to the release.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Anthony and his family at this very difficult time,” said Red Sox GM Theo Epstein. “We are optimistic about his recovery and look forward to the day he can return to the playing field.”

The Red Sox selected Rizzo in the sixth round of the 2007 draft. He was hitting .373 with 11 RBI at Single-A Greenville.

Around the bases

It appears Red Sox pitching prospect Daniel Bard is heading to Double-A Portland. The Red Sox selected the right-hander as their second pick (28th overall) in the 2006 draft. He posted a 3-7 mark with a 7.08 ERA in 2007, his first pro season split between Lancaster and Greenville. He played winter ball in Hawaii. He has been dominating in Greenville this season. The reliever is 1-0 with a 0.67 ERA in 14 appearances for the Drive. He’s posted 42 strikeouts in 27 innings. … PawSox pitcher Kyle Snyder has been placed on the seven-day DL with a right groin strain. The right-hander suffered the injury during his last start in Buffalo on Tuesday. Snyder began the season with the Red Sox, but was designated for assignment on April 14 to Pawtucket.

pkenyonl@projo.com