Knee sidelines Bradley
CF hopes to avoid trip to DL
DETROIT — On Saturday afternoon, Jackie Bradley Jr. declared himself built like Secretariat. It seems he woke up yesterday morning feeling a little more like Barbaro.
With fresh swelling and soreness in his right knee, Bradley went for an MRI that revealed a sprained ligament. He was held out of the lineup and will head back to Boston for a more thorough examination today.
Whether he lands on the disabled list remains undetermined.
“I feel like I can (avoid the DL),” Bradley said. “I feel like I can move around pretty good. I think that’s why they want to get the doctor to see it so they can kind of determine how much leeway they’re going to let me (have).”
Bradley hurt himself running out a fly ball Saturday. He stumbled around first base, tumbled to the ground and was checked by the trainers on the field. He walked off the field under his own power, initial tests were encouraging and Bradley declared that he was “all good” and built like history’s most famous thoroughbred.
The center fielder was still light-hearted yesterday morning, and even lightly chased Chris Young through the clubhouse at one point.
“I feel a lot better,” he said. “Initial diagnosis (is a sprain), and I’ve already kind of been getting treatment on it, and we’re going in the right direction.”
The Red Sox will determine the next step after team physician Dr. Peter Asnis examines the injury.
“Right now, there’s no determination or decision about his roster status,” manager John Farrell. “But precautionary, we want to be sure we take every measure available to us.”
Sick-ward update
Mookie Betts was back in the lineup for the first time since Opening Day, the latest Red Sox player to return from a flu bug that’s decimated the clubhouse. Andrew Benintendi was also back in left field after giving the team a mild scare when he threw up Saturday.
“He actually felt better this morning than he felt at the conclusion of the game yesterday,” Farrell said. “He’s ready to go.”
Joe Kelly was in the clubhouse after being sent back to the hotel with flu-like symptoms Saturday, but the reliever was not available unless absolutely necessary.
“He’s not 100 percent after the amount of vomiting that went on yesterday,” Farrell said.
Back in Boston, Hanley Ramirez is up and moving around after being hit hard by a full-blown case of influenza. He will not join the Red Sox in Detroit for the series finale, but the team hopes to have the designated hitter go through some baseball activity at Fenway Park today.
“That would be probably the best-case scenario,” Farrell said.
Barnes delivers
Set-up man Matt Barnes returned from a three-day stint on the bereavement list and pitched two scoreless innings, doing what three different relievers could not do Friday. He picked up the win and bridged the gap to closer Craig Kimbrel.
“I’ll be honest: It was one of the last things that I wanted to do was to get on a plane and go flying after 31⁄ hours at my grandma’s funeral yesterday morning,” Barnes said. “But it’s great to be back with the team. This is kind of one of those things, when you’re going through something that that’s difficult, it’s almost nice to get back to a normal schedule as much as you can. That doesn’t help you forget it, but it kind of helps ease the pain a little bit with it.”
The Sox will get another player back from bereavement today when shortstop Xander Bogaerts rejoins the team. To make room on the roster for Barnes, reliever Noe Ramirez was optioned back to Triple-A Pawtucket.
Johnson optimistic
Triple-A starter Brian Johnson was hit in the head by a line drive Saturday, but he walked off the field under his own power and seems on track to make his next start.
“Traded some messages with him this morning,” Farrell said. “He’s upbeat. He’s looking forward to getting back on the mound, taking his regular turn. The CT scan he went through was clean. There (were) no fractures of any kind.”
In 2012, Johnson was hit in the face by a liner while with Single-A Lowell. . . .
The Sox faced a left-handed starter for the first time this season and Chris Young was the designated hitter in the cleanup spot. Young went 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs. . . .
With Bradley out of the lineup, Steve Selsky got the start in center field. Farrell said he was impressed with Selsky’s routes and arm in spring training. Selsky doubled in three at-bats. . . .
Second baseman Dustin Pedroia has at least one hit in all five games.