Lester, who left Thursday’s game in the eighth inning after landing awkwardly and jamming his hip, is expected to make his next scheduled start against the Padres, according to manager John Farrell.
“He came in and checked in as he would after any other start,” Farrell said Friday. “He feels improved, so we’re considering today similar to any other Day 1 following a start. He does get the advantage of an extra day of rest this next time through. We fully expect him to be on the mound against San Diego next week.”
Lester said following Thursday’s game that he felt a “zinging sensation,” and the Red Sox wasted no time in lifting him from the game with a good-sized lead. The left-hander said that he has experienced similar issues throughout his years of pitching, but he insisted that he felt normal shortly after exiting the game, and Farrell doesn’t foresee any extra medical attention coming into play.
“Based on all the maintenance work he currently does, and the strength exams that he goes through, range of motion is good,” Farrell said. “There’s nothing that is glaring. There are times that — his stride direction is a little bit across his body, he’ll pinch it at times. So I can’t say that there’s the need for some kind of intervention to correct something that’s damaged. That’s not the case.
“The one thing I want to be clear here is that we’re not dealing with a damage situation. He has something that will rear its head every now and then and we’ll move on.”
The Red Sox are off Monday, and Lester is scheduled to pitch again Wednesday.
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