Red Sox center fielder Mike Cameron was sent to Massachusetts General Hospital the morning of Patriots’ Day with the same symptoms he felt before passing a kidney stone Friday, according to manager Terry Francona.
Cameron was originally in the lineup but scratched before 9 a.m. He was seen briefly in the clubhouse but quickly went off to visit team doctors before being sent to the hospital.
Francona said the hospital trip is being done in large part to "just make sure that’s what it is," referring to the kidney stone.
"I guess there is a chance that he is passing a little more," Francona said. "He’s really struggling. As the night progressed … his back got sore, his front got sore."
The 37-year-old Cameron was originally scratched from the lineup Thursday in Minnesota with what was then called an abdominal strain. He was eventually diagnosed with a kidney stone and ended up passing it Friday before Boston’s homestand opener against Tampa Bay.
Cameron was in the lineup the very next night. He had an error on a liner hit right at him which opened up a big first inning for the Rays, who went on to win 6-5.
Francona felt that Cameron had been struggling through some pain this weekend, but that the center fielder considered the soreness just a by-product of having sat for two days.
"I think he’s probably a little tougher kid than people realize," Francona said. "I haven’t had what he’s going through but when I’ve talked to people who do, they say it’s agonizing. He’s out there playing, so, that’s pretty tough."
It’s been a rough start for Cameron as a member of the Red Sox. In addition to the ailment and the big error Saturday night, he is hitting .233 (7-for-30) with zero RBIs in 11 games.
