If it turned out Josh Winckowski wasn’t able to pitch Thursday against the Phillies, he would’ve had about as ironclad a reason as there is. And the Red Sox wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it.

That situation almost came to pass when Winckowski was called by Lee County for jury duty in Fort Myers earlier this week. While the Red Sox train there in spring, Winckowski is a 12-year resident of the city. This was his first jury duty call.

It just happened to arrive as he’s battling for a spot in the Red Sox’s rotation.

“One of the questions [they asked] was occupation, and would this trial be a hardship?” Winckowski said. “I said, ‘I’m actually in the middle of Spring Training, so …’”

The court eventually dismissed Winckowski on those grounds, but he was among the final 40 out of 300 potential jurors before he was sent home.

“I don’t really like using [the MLB player] card,” Winckowski said. “But I really can’t miss too many days [of camp].”

Freed from his civic obligation, Winckowski rejoined the Red Sox to start in their 6-1 loss to the Phillies at BayCare Park. After dazzling in his spring outings to date, Winckowski took some lumps while allowing six runs (five earned) in 3 2/3 innings in his latest bid for one of the club’s two open rotation spots.

“I’m still really positive about everything and feel good in general,” Winckowski said. “This was the first rough one of the spring, and it’s going to happen. I still like where I’m at generally.”