HOUSTON — It’s hard to stay afloat, or make a comeback, when key pieces of the lineup are dealing with persistent injuries.
Eduardo Nunez is off the roster. Dustin Pedroia was removed from Friday’s 8-2 Red Sox loss to the Astros in Game 2 of the Division Series early, dealing with his continuously bothersome left knee. And Mookie Betts was pulled as well, because his his left wrist flared up.
He’s confident he’ll be able to return for Game 3 on Sunday, when the Sox will try to avoid a sweep. He said he'd be able to play Saturday, if the Sox had a game.
“It’s just one of those things, it’s going to take time to heal,” Betts said. “It can’t get worse. But like I said, it’s going to take time to heal. We don’t have that kind of time right now.”
Betts flied out to left in the top of the eighth inning and was visited by a Red Sox trainer during the at-bat. He did not take the field for the bottom of the eighth, with Rajai Davis taking his place.
“It was just a swing,” Betts said. “It happened so fast, I’m not exactly sure why or makes it happen. Just a little twist to my wrist. Honestly, I don’t know. I just know certain pitches, certain swings trigger it.”
Betts said he went for a cortisone shot on the left wrist recently. Betts has had trouble with both his right and left hand areas, dealing with a bone bruise on the right.
Boston Red Sox
Per the Boston Globe's Alex Speier, Betts recently received a shot in the area to dull pain he was experiencing.