Mookie’s back in swing again
Mookie Betts feels like he’s getting better, but he knows his injury isn’t one he can rush back from.
The Red Sox right fielder is still on the disabled list, sidelined the last two weeks with a left abdominal strain, but he’s slowly progressing. Before last night’s 7-2 loss to the Tigers, he took about five minutes of batting practice and 25 swings on the field at Fenway before taking his work to the indoor cage.
“He felt better,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “I think where it bothers him, sometimes you’re hesitant, so I understand it, and like I told him, ‘We’re not pushing you to come sooner rather than later. You come back whenever you’re ready. We trust you.’
“We’ve done it the whole season. We’re not going to change now. We’ll go through the same thing and see how he reacts to it.”
Cora said they’ll go through the same routine, which includes defensive work, today to see how he feels.
Betts said he felt good after the workout.
“Definitely going in the right direction,” he said. “Had a functional day today, so I’d say I’m taking steps in the right direction . . . .
“A little sore just from getting back to swinging, but I definitely, definitely felt good being out there.”
Betts said he’ll “probably” go out for at least one rehab game to get some at-bats before he makes his return. But he’s not hurrying the process.
“You don’t want to rush it, because that’s when you could be out for a long time,” Betts said. “So, just take it slow, and like I said, continue to progress . . . .
“I’m just going to take it one day at a time. (Today), I’ll come in, if I feel good, come in (today) and get some more swings, and then just go from there.”
Swihart catches up
Despite a rough debut for pitcher Jalen Beeks, Blake Swihart’s return to playing catcher seemed to have gone well.
It was Swihart’s first start at catcher since 2015, and his performance pleased Cora.
“It was good, it was good,” the manager said. “He learned a lot today. Obviously, it’s his first one as far as preparation to start a game and go through the whole process, and he made some adjustments too. Sometimes as a catcher you don’t know where to go.
“He did well. I just told Jason (Varitek), ‘He did a good job.’ Good pitches, good target, up in the zone, down in the zone. We were very pleased with the way he caught.”
Swihart said he could have done a better job calling the game for Beeks, who struggled to mix his pitches well, but it was an overall positive experience for him.
“I felt good back there,” Swihart said. “Blocking, receiving, everything. There’s always some fine-tuning stuff to do, and the more I work on it, the more I get out there, the better I’ll be.”
Swihart has struggled to get in the lineup regularly at any position.
“Any way I can get in the lineup, that’s what I want to do, so if that’s catching, I’ll work my tail off to do that,” Swihart said.
J.D. battles back
J.D. Martinez came out of the game in the eighth inning with back tightness, but it doesn’t seem to be anything to worry about. Martinez left Sunday’s win against the Astros with back spasms, but Cora said it wasn’t as bad as that.
“Although I felt that we were still have a shot, one swing away to get back into the game, but I think stay away from him and hopefully he’ll be back (today),” Cora said.
“Not as bad as in Houston, but still, I felt like it was a smart move tonight.”