UPDATE (7:53 p.m.): Mookie Betts will head to the 10-day disabled list with a left abdominal strain, the Red Sox announced Friday. The move is retroactive to Tuesday, meaning he will be eligible to return next Friday.
ORIGINAL STORY: The Boston Red Sox will again be without Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia as they take on the Houston Astros on Friday from Minute Maid Park.
Betts has been dealing with some tightness in his side that will cause him to miss his sixth straight game Friday. Sox manager Alex Cora was optimistic that Betts would be ready in time for the series with the Astros (which began Thursday), but the right fielder has been unable to go to this point.
Prior to Friday’s game, Cora indicated to reporters that Betts would partake in some baseball activities, such as batting practice in the cage and hitting off a tee, and will be reevaluated Saturday. The Sox skipper remains optimistic that Betts will be able to play at some point this series.
Cora also added that Betts, for now, will avoid a disabled list stint, in part because you only can retroactively put someone on the DL three days in the past.
Meanwhile, Pedroia has been contending with some lingering issues with his knee due to offseason cartilage restoration surgery that kept him on the disabled list up until last Friday.
The second baseman was scheduled to be in the lineup Thursday, but was a late scratch after feeling some pain upon warming up in the outfield shortly before the game.
The name of the game for the Red Sox has been cautiousness when it comes to Pedroia, so Cora and his staff have been — and will continue to be — erring on the side of caution when it comes to the 34-year-old.
“Coming into the situation, we knew he was going to have some good days and some bad days,” Cora said, via MassLive’s Chris Smith. “It just happened that yesterday was a horrible one for him. Today’s he’s a little bit sore.
“Yesterday he was down,” Cora added. “Not only only physically. You could see it. For everything he went through, and the rehab and for how good he was feeling, and all of a sudden that happens. But at the same time, they’ve been telling, our medical staff, that there’s going to be some bad days. It happened. It happened probably quicker than what we really wanted, of course. But he’s a big part of what we’re trying to accomplish. We know what he brings to the table. So we’ll make sure he’s healthy.”
Cora did not rule out Pedroia playing Saturday, but wouldn’t commit to a decision either way.
Brock Holt will start at second base in Pedroia’s place, while J.D. Martinez will occupy right for Betts.
