Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is on the verge of returning to the team, but this weekend, he has some rehab business to attend to.
Playing in his first of two rehab games over the weekend with Triple-A Pawtucket on Saturday night, the All-Star second baseman singled and walked in the PawSox' 6-4 win over Buffalo at a packed McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket.
After grounding out to shortstop in his first at-bat, Pedroia hit a single off Buffalo starter Michael Antonini. Pedroia would eventually come around to score his only run of the night on a Yamaico Navarro sacrifice fly.
Pedroia also flew out and walked, and played errorless defense at second base.
He's slated to be the designated hitter for the PawSox on Sunday, and if all goes according to plan, he should re-join the big league club in time for Tuesday's game with the Angels that will kick off a nine-game homestand for the Red Sox.
With Jacoby Ellsbury being out for the foreseeable future, the Red Sox will need Pedroia's bat and leadership in the clubhouse in order to make any sort of stretch run to stay in the AL playoff race.
