The pain keeps coming for Shane Victorino. Turns out, it has been present for Jacoby Ellsbury, too. Dogged all season by back and hamstring issues, Victorino was lifted after the sixth inning of the Red Sox’ 7-6 victory yesterday because of a bruised left hip. Three innings later, Ellsbury left with swelling in his left thumb, which he revealed has been bothering him for several weeks. The good news: Neither outfielder is expected to miss significant time. It’s possible both could play today. “You know me,” said Ellsbury, smiling and holding up his left hand. “I’ll play.” Ellsbury aggravated the thumb injury after being jammed on a few swings earlier in the game and again on a fly ball to center field in the eighth inning. Manager John Farrell replaced him with recently acquired Quintin Berry, who caught Paul Konerko’s game-ending fly ball in the ninth. “Jacoby’s got a little swelling in that hand, so we felt like it may affect his throws,” Farrell said. “Given that Vic went out a few innings before, we got him out for precautionary (reasons).” Already forced to bat exclusively from the right side due to soreness in his left hamstring, switch-hitting Victorino was unable to accelerate out of the batter’s box after rolling a two-out grounder in the sixth inning. He spiked his helmet in frustration, then walked halfway to his position in right field before being visited by Farrell and head trainer Rick Jameyson. Victorino didn’t make himself available after the game, but Farrell said he bruised his hip while sliding into first base in the fourth inning. “He’s got a contusion he’s dealing with, and it begins to affect some of the other areas that he’s been managing for a while,” Farrell said. “When he aggravates it, it begins to kind of shut some things down on him and he doesn’t feel the explosiveness. We fully expect him to be on the field (today).” In Victorino’s absence, Daniel Nava moved to right field and Jonny Gomes took over in left. If either Victorino or Ellsbury were to be sidelined for more than a few days, the Red Sox would consider calling up top outfield prospect Jackie Bradley Jr., who is expected to join the team later this month after Triple-A Pawtucket completes its playoff run. Felix flops For three innings, lefty Felix Doubront mowed down the White Sox, facing only one batter over the minimum. But he didn’t survive the fourth inning, allowing four runs and matching his shortest start of the season. “I was missing my spots,” Doubront said. “I lost a little confidence with my breaking ball. There’s a lot of things I don’t remember at all. I don’t want to remember either. For myself, it’s moving forward, looking for my next start.” ... Lefty reliever Craig Breslow allowed a two-out solo homer to Tyler Flowers in the eighth inning, snapping a streak of 16 consecutive scoreless appearances. Breslow hadn’t given up a run since July 21 or a homer since July 6. ... Shortstop Stephen Drew belted his 11th homer of the season, a solo shot in the third inning. Among AL shortstops, only Baltimore’s J.J. Hardy has more home runs. ... White Sox manager Robin Ventura was ejected in the fourth inning for arguing a pivotal play in which third baseman Conor Gillaspie made a backhand stab of Dustin Pedroia’s smash but fumbled the ball as he dove toward the base in an attempt to tag Ellsbury. Gillaspie recovered but threw the ball away, allowing Ellsbury to score and give the Red Sox a 6-4 lead. Berry good at history Berry smiled at the mere mention of the name. Yes, he assured, he’s familiar with Dave Roberts’ place in Red Sox lore. “I know a little bit about him,” Berry said. “He changed the whole game off of one move.” Of course, Roberts famously stole second base in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees, helping to shift the momentum in the series. And for as long as he stays with the Red Sox this season, Berry’s job will be to impact games in a similar fashion. Acquired last Tuesday from the Kansas City Royals for right-hander Clayton Mortensen, Berry joined the Sox in the first wave of September call-ups. The 28-year-old outfielder will be used primarily as a pinch-runner, a role in which he figures to excel. He is 21-for-21 in stolen base attempts in his major league career. “I’m excited that they think so highly of me that I can get on these basepaths and try to get an extra bag for them or move up and try to steal these bases and score runs for this team,” Berry said. “I’m looking forward to it.” As expected, the Red Sox also called up catcher Ryan Lavarnway and right-hander Rubby De La Rosa from Pawtucket and activated infielder Brandon Snyder from the disabled list. Snyder had been sidelined since Aug. 8 with a right elbow injury. Johnny on the spot After being acquired Saturday night in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies, utility infielder John McDonald joined the Red Sox shortly before the game, the start of which was pushed back 19 minutes because of rain. McDonald grew up in Connecticut, played at Providence College and makes his offseason home in Scituate. He also has been traded four times this season, his 15th in the majors, and at age 38, he sees the irony in finally coming home to play for the Red Sox at a time when they’re contending for an AL East crown. “Getting to play at Fenway, getting to put this uniform on was pretty awesome,” McDonald said. - See more at: bostonherald/sports/red_sox_mlb/boston_red_sox/2013/09/jacoby_shane_in_pain?utm_source=Today+in+Sports+September+1%2C+2013&utm_campaign=Jan+23++2013&utm_medium=email#sthash.L4hWsuzY.dpuf
Posted on: Mon, 02 Sep 2013 17:46:44 +0000
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