Injury news is two bad Price report
Painful exits for Nunez, Betts
What could have been an exciting night for the Red Sox turned into a sour one as Eduardo Nunez reaggravated his right knee injury in his first game back after missing two weeks.
Nunez, whose .321 average and .892 OPS rank first on the team since he was acquired from the San Francisco Giants a week before the trade deadline, was back in the lineup last night as the designated hitter and went 1-for-2 with a double.
But during his second atbat in the third inning, Nunez took a big swing, fouled one back and appeared to twist the same knee he injured earlier in the month.
Nunez fell to the ground right away and stayed there for a moment, but got back up, stretched it out and finished the at-bat with a lineout to third base.
Sam Travis pinch hit for him in the fifth inning.
“We thought (my knee) was ready and my foot got stuck at home plate and something happened we didn’t expect,” Nunez said. “We thought that we were more ready than we were. I’ll keep working. Keep positive and hopefully in two more days we’re going to try again.”
It was a disappointing exit given how quickly Nunez had recovered from his original injury, which at the time threatened his season.
“You’re talking about a ligament damage to the PCL,” manager John Farrell said before the 6-4 loss to Toronto. “And I know it’s less severe than an ACL/MCL, but still it’s about pain tolerance. It’s about managing it. His body has to recondition to take care of that. His muscles have to respond in a different way. It’s a credit to (physical therapist Adam Thomas) and others in our training staff that have gotten him back to this point.
“They’ve educated him along the way to anticipate what to expect. And if he feels a little bit of a zinger, that’s going to go away. He’s not putting himself at further risk.”
When Nunez hit a rocket double to right-center in his first at-bat, he gingerly jogged the bases without his usual force.
While speed is a big part of his game — he was 6-for8 in stolen-base attempts before the injury — the Red Sox figured Nunez would have to take it slow on the bases for the first few games.
“I was better (Sunday) than (yesterday),” he said. “The game speed is a little more than what (I was doing). It was more intensity than just practice. I think we’re going to need three or four days.”
Swings pain Mookie
Nunez wasn’t the only one to leave the game with an injury.
Mookie Betts,
who was 2-for-3 last night and is hitting .333 over his last nine games, hurt his wrist swinging the bat in the fifth inning and departed the game for a pinch hitter in the eighth.
Betts had already been dealing with a wrist injury.
“Just a couple days ago, I just took a swing and felt it,” he said. “Just like a sharp pain. It kind of goes through. I can’t really move my hand for a little bit, but I think, again, I don’t really know what’s going on. We’ll find out (today) … It’s just been kind of painful for swings, but that’s just the part of the season.”
Betts said he’d get his wrist looked at further before today’s game.
He made contact with the pitch that hurt him this time, reaching for an offspeed pitch and lifting a bloop single into right field.
“Occasionally on some swings, it just, I don’t know whether I turn it, I don’t know what happens,” he said. “I’ll take a look and see. But I’ll be fine.”
More Pedey rest
Dustin Pedroia, who hasn’t started on back-to-back days since Sept. 17-18, was on the bench again last night.
Pedroia is just 1-for-26 over his last seven games after going 13-for-30 in his first nine games upon returning from a knee injury.
Farrell said the drop-off in performance is likely related to his knee, and the Sox are planning on having him back in the lineup tonight.
“I think the volume catches up to him at times,” Farrell said. “That’s where we’ve got to be a little more cautious. … We’ve just got to get him back to be as best as possible and as fresh as possible as we can.”
It took four days for the Sox to go to David Price out of the bullpen a second time — not exactly an ideal schedule with the postseason just around the corner.
But that wasn’t by design. After first pitching in relief last Sunday in Tampa, Price was available out of the ‘pen after two days’ rest on Wednesday in Baltimore, but the game was a blowout and the Sox chose not to use him. They were off on Thursday before Price pitched again on Friday, throwing 22⁄3 scoreless innings on 40 pitches in Cincinnati.
As much as the Red Sox would like to use Price every day, they’re more apt to keep him in this multiinning role in which he requires additional downtime between outings.
“I think in the two outings in which he has pitched, that’s probably more the role that I envision,” Farrell said. “Not to say that couldn’t change going forward, but that was a big 22⁄3 innings the other night.”