ANAHEIM, Calif. -- If Steven Wright can't stand the heat, well, there really isn't much the Boston Red Sox can do about it.

One day after suggesting in a pregame interview on Red Sox flagship radio station WEEI that Wright might need to be scratched from future starts in sticky, humid conditions because of the difficulties he has had with gripping his knuckleball, manager John Farrell said such a drastic measure isn't realistic.

"Your rotation is set up as it is, every fifth day. I don't know that we can go through and look at the weather and forecast if we're going to change the rotation," Farrell said Thursday before the Red Sox opened an 11-game West Coast road trip against the Los Angeles Angels. "That's not likely."

Wright has had a breakthrough season for the Red Sox, ranking sixth in the American League with a 3.12 ERA in 20 starts. The common denominator in his worst starts -- June 25 at Texas and Wednesday night against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park, to name two -- has been coping with the excessive sweat and moisture that form on his hands in extreme heat.

After Wright gave up eight runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Tigers, Farrell indicated that rosin might be a solution. But Wright has said rosin creates too much stickiness on his hand and affects the way he throws his knuckleball.

One possibility, according to Farrell, would be to have Wright wear long sleeves to prevent the sweat from reaching his hands.

"We've got to figure out a way to get through 90 degrees," Farrell said. "I'm not being critical. I'm being obvious. We've got to work through this."