BALTIMORE – Clay Buchholz was put on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday by the Boston Red Sox because of a broken nail on his right middle finger.

The Red Sox filled his roster spot by recalling outfielder Jonathan Van Every from Triple-A Pawtucket. Van Every made his major league debut Wednesday as Boston's starting center fielder against the Baltimore Orioles.

Buchholz, who had been scheduled to start Sunday against Milwaukee, was put on the DL retroactive to Tuesday, the day after he yielded seven runs in 4 1-3 innings at Minnesota.

“I've had a fingernail bend, but never one that just came off. It went all the way off and I just had to end up tearing it off,” he said. “It was really tender toward the end of the outing. Yesterday and today, it feels fine. I feel like I could throw.”

But the Red Sox decided to be careful with the 22-year-old, who last year pitched a no-hitter against Baltimore.

“The thing that we were concerned about there is that it was going to alter how he threw,” said Brad Mills, Boston's acting manager during the absence of Terry Francona. “He's going to need some time anyway to have that fingernail heal.”

Buchholz is 2-3 with a 5.53 ERA. He yielded 12 runs and 18 hits over 8 1-3 innings in his last two starts.

“I could only feel it when I threw fastballs, so that's why we strayed away from throwing fastballs and went to a lot of changeups and curveballs,” he said. “Whenever they did call a fastball, I tried to throw it as hard as I could because regardless of how much pressure I put on it, I could feel the pain. I just tried to let it go and most of the time, the pitch wasn't where I intended to throw it.”

Buchholz understood the reason he was placed on the disabled list, but wasn't happy about the pending inactivity.

“They don't want me to be compensating for anything else and end up hurting something. Shoulder, elbow, whatever. I've got to do what they tell me to do,” he said. “I don't like not being able to pitch for a couple of weeks but it is what it is. We've got a couple of people who have done down with injuries, so I've got to bide time.”

The 27-year-old Van Every was batting .287 with six homers and 20 RBIs in 40 games with the Paw Sox. He was signed as a free agent in December after spending seven seasons in the Cleveland Indians' organization.

“This is my eighth season. There have been may trials and tribulations,” Van Every said. “You work hard and hope.”

But if he had to do it over, he wouldn't change a thing.

“I'm with the reigning world champions,” Van Every said. “I think I made a good decision.”

He was stunned to learn he was in the starting lineup as a replacement for Coco Crisp, who left Tuesday's game with an upset stomach.

“I found out five minutes ago,” Van Every said two hours before game time. “It was kind of a shock. I wasn't expecting to play.”

Mills put the rookie in center because Jacoby Ellsbury can play right field for injured J.D. Drew (wrist).

“(Van Every) played every game in center field at Pawtucket, and we didn't want him to make his major league debut out of position,” Mills said.