Dustin Pedroia is counting the innings until he returns to familiar surroundings.
The Boston Red Sox second baseman played for the Greenville Drive on Thursday in their loss to the West Virginia Power. The game was the first of his rehab assignment with Boston’s Single-A affiliate, and he went 2-for-3, playing nine innings.
It was a positive experience for a player who missed all but three games in 2018 due to knee surgery and spent extra time in spring training this year in order to fully recover.
“There’s a certain amount of innings that they wanted me to get to and make sure my knee responds well to it,” Pedroia said after the game, per The Greenville News’ Myron Hosea. “That’s what we’re doing, and everything’s worked out great so far.
“It felt good. Another step in the right direction. Almost there.”
Pedroia will play Friday in Greenville’s as well. Then he’ll take Saturday off and return Sunday for the Drive versus Power rubber match.
He hopes his knee will respond to game action well enough for him to return to the Red Sox lineup Tuesday at Fenway Park in Boston’s home opener.
“That would mean a lot,” Pedroia said. “That would be pretty cool.”
It certainly would.
