BOSTON — When dehydration forced Pablo Sandoval to leave Wednesday’s game, ongoing concerns about his conditioning immediately came to mind.
Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell couldn’t name exactly what prompted Sandoval’s fifth-inning exit — maybe it was the 91-degree heat, Farrell said, or the fact that he had tried to score from first base earlier in the game — but he did say the 255-pound third baseman’s conditioning is a constant point of emphasis.
“That’s something that Pablo has dealt with his entire career,” Farrell said after Boston’s 9-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park. “It continues to be addressed. I can’t say (Wednesday) is a direct result of that. But there are ongoing efforts to support that, to try to get him in the best shape possible.”
Sandoval’s first-to-home bid came on a Ryan Hanigan double in the third inning, and he was thrown out by a considerable margin. Farrell, however, said he did not have an issue with third base coach Brian Butterfield’s decision to sent Sandoval.
“Recognizing there was nobody out in the inning, where the ball was picked up in relation to where he was on the basepaths, you think that that’s a run that should score,” the manager said. “Whether or not he was declining in speed because of the onset of the dehydration, I can’t answer that in that split-second, no.”
Sandoval remained in the game for two more innings in the field and took one additional at-bat, but Josh Rutledge, who replaced him at third base, said Sandoval’s symptoms were becoming apparent before he left the game.
“I kind of knew,” said Rutledge, who went 0-for-2 in his Red Sox debut. “Pablo was kind of feeling a little dizzy the inning before, so I started getting ready.”
Thumbnail photo via Michael Dwyer/Associated Press
