Breathe easy, Red Sox fans. It seems as though Mookie Betts is going to be just fine.
The right fielder appeared to hurt himself making a throw to home plate on a routine fly ball in the sixth inning of Sunday’s 4-3 win over the New York Mets at Fenway Park that forced him to leave the game. The team announced it was left side soreness — the same injury that sidelined him in June.
Of course, with the postseason right around the corner, there was cause for concern that Betts could miss some time, but Sox manager Alex Cora seemed optimistic the All-Star outfielder will be in the lineup come Tuesday.
“He felt a little bit sore,” the skipper said, as seen on NESN’s Red Sox postgame coverage. “He’s in the clubhouse right now. He’s saying he’s fine for Tuesday. He’ll get treatment tomorrow and see how he reacts to it, and we’ll go from there.”
Cora also noted the injury wasn’t related to his June abdominal strain, and once Jackie Bradley Jr. signaled to his manager to come out of the dugout, he knew right away Betts was coming out.
“Even if he said ‘I’m OK’ I was going to take him out anyway,” Cora said. “I’m not going to take any chance.”
Although it was scary for a brief moment, everything seems good to go for Tuesday when the Red Sox travel to New York to take on the Yankees.
Here are some other notes from Sunday’s Red Sox-Mets game:
— Boston potentially can clinch the American League East division as early as Tuesday, needing just one win during its three-game set in The Bronx.
— Brock Holt continued his hot streak Tuesday, going 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and a run scored.
“Everybody knows that when he’s healthy, he’s a good player,” Cora said. “He can do a lot of things … good at-bats off the bench, as a starter. We’re very pleased.”
— Steven Wright earned his first-career save in the victory, pitching a scoreless, hitless ninth with a strikeout.
— Tzu-Wei Lin took over in the outfield and made his time count, making a spectacular catch, as well as going 1-for-1 with a double and a run scored.
“He’s a good center fielder. For him to get to that ball, that was good, that was really good,” Cora said. “Happy for him too that he got a double there and he was able to contribute .It was fun to see him smiling, finally. We feel he can play center fielder. He’s a good defender.”
— Brandon Workman was credited with the win after tossing a scoreless eight with two strikeouts. His ERA now is 2.33.
