BOSTON — This time, David Ortiz's return to the Red Sox
may be for real.
After missing over a month of time with an Achilles
injury — when it appeared he'd return earlier — the Red Sox' designated
hitter raced around the bases on Thursday and emerged without any additional
setbacks.
"It looked like David got through everything
perfectly," Red Sox skipper Bobby Valentine said. "He was running the
bases. Today was the day he was going to run the bases, which he hadn't done
yet. He had run sprints."
If Ortiz doesn't experience any lingering pain on Friday,
he could be poised to rejoin the Red Sox in the upcoming series against the
Royals.
"We're going to see how he gets through it,"
Valentine said. "If he gets through, we're planning on hopefully activating
him [on Friday]. That's the update of updates."
Entering Thursday's game, the Red Sox were 13-21 during
Ortiz's absence. Before landing on the disabled list, the 36-year-old was
carrying the team offensively, hitting .316 with 23 home runs and 58 RBIs.
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