David Ortiz thought something was seriously wrong when he hit the deck Sunday.
Ortiz fouled a ball off his right foot in the fourth inning of the Boston Red Sox’s loss to the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park. The slugger didn’t suffer any structural damage, but the pain he endured was obvious.
“It was not good. I thought I broke something, or something like that,” Ortiz told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford before Monday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. “This morning I got up, I had breakfast, took some anti-inflammatories and went back to sleep. Four hours later, the swelling was reduced a little bit. If it happens tomorrow, I might be able to play if I’m not hurting as bad as I am right now.
“I can’t put much weight on yet. (Sunday), my last at-bat, I took a swing and missed and it didn’t feel right. Then once I hit I tried to take off running and you guys saw what happened. It should have been a double, but I couldn’t get it done. So, we’ll see. Hopefully it’s better tomorrow and if I’m able to run I’ll play.”
Bradford notes that Ortiz still was hobbling Monday afternoon, which explains his absence from the Red Sox’s starting lineup in the club’s series opener against the Blue Jays. Boston clearly dodged a bullet, however, as he’s considered day-to-day despite suffering pain unlike any he’s ever experienced.
“Yeah, I think I got away with (stuff) right there. It is what it is,” Ortiz told Bradford. “The ball that I hit (Sunday) off my foot. I hit balls off my foot all the time, but I think that was the worst I’ve ever hit a ball off my foot. I went straight to the ground. It was a pitch that was cutting in. It seemed like the same velocity coming in was the same velocity going at my foot. That’s why I say I got away with something, not having anything broken.”
Ortiz is having another monster season for the Red Sox. The 38-year-old entered Monday hitting .265 with 30 home runs and 93 RBIs. Boston obviously is having a rough year, but losing Ortiz would have been salt on the wound.
