Sunday 6:00 p.m. ET. Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters after the Red Sox 3-1 loss to the Astros that Suarez will not need an MRI on his right hamstring. Suarez also met with the media where he remained hopeful that he will make his next start.

Sunday p.m. A strange moment occurred ahead of the top half of the fifth inning of the Boston Red Sox ' Sunday afternoon matchup against the Houston Astros , as starting pitcher Ranger Suarez seemingly removed himself from the game. Here's what you need to know at this time.

What happened?

Suarez walked the first batter he faced in the fourth inning, before quickly retiring the next three batters he faced. The Red Sox would be retired in order in the home half, and it was reliever Tyler Samaniego on the mound rather than Suarez.

As seen on NESN's feed, Suarez appeared to say something to pitching coach Andrew Bailey as he was walking into the dugout after the fourth, causing Bailey to look confused at other members of the coaching staff before following after the starter.

Suarez was cruising through his seventh start of the year, allowing three hits, walking one while striking out three, throwing 70 pitches across four shutout innings of work.

In those four innings, Suarez saw no noticeable drop off in velocity or stuff, as both were, for the most part, in line with his yearly averages. The Red Sox announced in the sixth inning that Suarez departed the game with right hamstring tightness.

A depleted rotation

The injury to Suarez comes at an awful time for the Boston pitching staff. After entering the season potentially 10 deep, the rotation has seen injuries all but deplete that depth.

Overall, Boston has five starters, including Sonny Gray and Garrett Crochet, on their major league injured list, while prospect Tyler Uberstein, who made his major league debut in April, was placed on the Triple-A injured list with a shoulder injury.

The injuries have left interim manager Chad Tracy in a precarious position, with Suarez's injury potentially leaving him with the struggling Brayan Bello and three left-handed rookies as the lone healthy pieces in the major league rotation.

The Red Sox are hoping to get Gray, who is eligible to return from the injured list on Wednesday, back after a minimum stay on the injured list. He threw three innings of live batting practice ahead of Friday night's series opener against the Astros. Boston has not yet named a starter for Wednesday afternoon's series finale against the Detroit Tigers , leaving the door open for Gray's return.

We'll know more about Suarez' status when Tracy meets with the media at the conclusion of Sunday afternoon's game.

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