By ERIC BENEVIDES

Sports writer

PAWTUCKET — Seems like Rocco Baldelli wasn’t the only player heading to Boston via Rhode Island on Friday.
The Boston Red Sox, who activated the Cumberland outfielder from the 15-day disabled list in time for this weekend’s big series against the New York Yankees, also recalled rookie pitcher Michael Bowden from the Pawtucket Red Sox late Thursday night.
The 22-year-old righthander, who was 4-6 in 22 starts with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP that were both the fifth-best marks in the International League, is expected to be used out of the bullpen.
This will be Bowden’s third trip to Boston. Last season, he got called up on Aug. 30 to make a spot start against the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park, and he struck out three and allowed seven hits and two runs in five innings of work to get the win and help the Red Sox score an 8-2 victory.
Bowden also made one appearance in his other major-league stint, when in a 4-1 win over the Yankees at Fenway on April 26, he came out of the bullpen and tossed two perfect innings, striking out a pair of batters along the way.
To create room on the 25-man roster for Bowden and Baldelli, the Red Sox sent outfielder Brian Anderson back to Pawtucket and designated reliever Fernando Cabrera for assignment.
Anderson, who was acquired on July 28 in a trade with the Chicago White Sox for outfielder/first baseman Mark Kotsay, had spent the past week with Boston, and in three games, went 3-for-6 with a run batted in. In 26 games with the PawSox, he batted .268 with six homers and 12 RBIs.
Cabrera was 20-for-20 in save opportunities for the PawSox and named to the I.L. All-Star team before getting his contract purchased by the Red Sox on Aug. 9. The righthander fanned seven batters and allowed four hits and two runs in four innings of work with Boston.

Richardson becomes player No. 59
The PawSox added another player to the roster on Friday when lefty Dustin Richardson was promoted from Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. He is the 59th different player (and 25th pitcher) to join the PawSox.
The 25-year-old Richardson, who was named to the Eastern League All-Star team, was 2-2 with four saves and a 2.70 ERA in 38 relief appearances for the Sea Dogs. In 63 1/3 innings, he struck out 80 batters and E.L. opponents were batting .186 off him.
A fifth-round draft pick of the Red Sox in the 2006 MLB Draft, Richardson was a starter through most of his first 2 1/2 pro seasons and was 20-19 with a 4.53 ERA, but in 22 starts with the Sea Dogs last year, he was 7-10 with a 6.33 ERA.
In college, Richardson pitched for Texas Tech and also competed for a spot on the Texas Tech men’s basketball team on the ESPN reality show “Knight School” that starred legendary hoop coach Bobby Knight.
The 59 players mark the third-most in a season used by the PawSox and is a far cry from the franchise-record 70 used in 2007.
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NOTES: PawSox outfielder Chris Carter was out of the lineup for the second straight game, but manager Ron Johnson expects him back in tonight’s 6:05 p.m. series opener against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. “He’s a little fatigued, so we’re giving him a little blow,” Johnson reported of Carter, who leads the team in several offensive categories, including hits (110), homers (14), RBIs (54), and average (.280). … Rookie righty Adam Mills (0-1, 7.88) will start in tonight’s contest against former Toronto Blue Jays starter Gustavo Chacin (7-3, 3.47). The rest of the rotation for the series features Enrique Gonzalez (7-11, 5.23) on Sunday afternoon, veteran Paul Byrd (0-1, 6.75) on Monday, and knuckleballer Charlie Zink (5-14, 5.89) on Tuesday. … The final free youth clinic of the season at McCoy Stadium will take place today from 2-3:15 pm. The clinic is open to youngsters free of charge. Johnson, pitching coach Rich Sauveur, hitting coach Russ Morman, and several players will be on the field to offer baseball tips and instructions.