Red Sox fans held their collective breath Friday when Xander Bogaerts left early in Boston's loss to the New York Yankees on Friday afternoon.
Bogaerts was seen grabbing his hamstring after a slide into second base. He walked off the field on his own, though he was hobbling a bit, and did not play the 11th inning.
Of course, no team wants to lose its All-Star shortstop in the first game of the season, but Bogaerts did seem optimistic that he would be able to play when the Red Sox and Yankees return to action Saturday.
"I think so, if you ask me," Bogaerts said after the game, as seen on NESN's postgame coverage. "Right now, yeah."
While that's good news, he did say he felt his hamstring bother him after his final at-bat and that it wasn't a "normal feeling."
"I don't know what it was. It wasn't good, though," Bogaerts said. "I tried to do whatever to not feel it and it kind of went away for a little bit. It was a good sign. It wasn't a normal thing that happens every day.
"I don't know if it's because I didn’t do too much running during spring training. I was getting only outs. I got on base today a couple times and I ran pretty hard right out of the gate first to third. I should have hit a homer like (Rafael) Devers."
Manager Alex Cora said they'd know more later in the day Friday after Bogaerts undergoes some tests and treatment.
"We'll know more later (Friday)," Cora said on NESN's postgame coverage. "It was a little bit tight. ... We'll see how he reacts to treatment and all that stuff. We'll see how feels (Friday) night."
Is Cora nervous it could be a long-term injury?
"I'm always nervous when people come out of the game," he said.
All we can do is wait until there is another update on Bogaerts, but at least it is a long season, right?
The Red Sox return to action Saturday with Nick Pivetta on the hill. First pitch is set for 4:05 p.m. ET on NESN.
