Despite battling an ailment –– which he classified as a bad cold beforehand –– the Red Sox first baseman intended to play in the series finale against the Yankees. But the symptoms worsened into something that appears to be flu-like symptoms.
For now, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine is calling it an illness.
“He got sick during the game where he was coughing,” Valentine said. “He was getting real dizzy and eyes were watering. He’s been on medication for a while. Just came up and 18-game hitting streak, left it out there with one at-bat. Must have been pretty sick.”
So much so that Gonzalez was willing to sacrifice his 18-game hitting streak. After striking out in his lone at-bat in Sunday’s 7-3 defeat, he exited the game in the third inning, snapping his career high streak.
Upon exiting, Gonzalez entered the clubhouse to receive treatment from the medical staff. For a player who prides himself on playing 162 games, Gonzalez was clearly dealing with a serious situation.
“He’s been there every day,” Valentine said. “It took me by total surprise. If he’s going to say anything, it must be something of note. I saw he and [Tim Bogar] were talking about it, then I didn’t hear anything about it.”
When Gonzalez left, Mauro Gomez moved over to first base while Nick Punto entered to play third base.
Have a question for Didier Morais? Send it to him via Twitter at @DidierMorais or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.
