FORT MYERS, Fla. — The last time we saw Kevin Youkilis in a game, he was shaking his right hand in pain after lofting a soft liner to shortstop in an Aug. 2 game against Cleveland. He had torn a muscle in his thumb and would be lost for the final 56 games of the season.
Back on the field Saturday at City of Palms Park, Youkilis began the process of making up for lost time.
"When you haven't played in a while, you've got to remember what time to get ready and all that," Youkilis said after starring in the Red Sox' 6-0 win over Boston College. "Preparation for the game, that's the key. You make sure you're loose and in the right position to go out there and play a game. Once I did that, I was on time for all my stuff and I felt good."
He looked pretty good, too.
Youkilis, who is transitioning back to third base, made a sensational diving grab to his backhand side for the second out of the game. Moments later, he crushed a three-run homer to right to give Boston its first runs of the spring.
After drawing a walk in his second plate appearance, Youkilis was removed for a pinch runner, ending a very successful return to game action.
While the three-run homer gave the Red Sox all they needed on the scoreboard, the defensive gem was what stood out to some in attendance.
"How about that? That was nice," manager Terry Francona said when asked of the play. "He's worked hard. He's spent a lot of time over there. I think he'll be just fine."
Although he joked that he may have wasted some of his bullets against a college team, Youkilis was pleased with the three-inning effort.
"Probably the worst part about it was that I peaked too early," he said. "But it was good to get back out there.
The balls off the bat, that's one of those things, the adrenaline rush when you're playing live and when you're hitting, you have to harness all that adrenaline and try to work on things. It was good to go out there and get the spikes on and play on a field where there's no L-screens and pitchers are pitching and position players are out there fielding the ball."
Youkilis said he expects to play Sunday night, when the Red Sox take the bus a few miles south to Hammond Stadium to take on Minnesota.
