When Hanley Ramirez pulled up, reached for his hamstring and limped off the field yesterday, it sent a deserved chill through Fenway Park. The Red Sox lineup was finally showing signs of life, and now their cleanup hitter was being removed from a game.
It was enough to make you long for the days of a flu outbreak.
But the news wasn't nearly as bad as it seemed. Initial diagnosis was nothing more than a cramp, and Ramirez's left hamstring began to loosen by the time the Sox finished off another come-from-behind win.
Now Ramirez is back in the lineup as the Red Sox attempt to finish this homestand with their third straight win.
"Just a little cramp," he said. "We wanted to make sure everything was good, so they took me out, but I'll be fine."
On the mound, the Red Sox turn back to knuckleballer Steven Wright, who was knocked around last time out. Wright will look to return to form, which means he'll try to bring back the unpredictability of his go-to pitch.
"Maintenance for a knuckleballer is to try and deaden spin," manager John Farrell said. "And that’s where the focus and emphasis has been. As I mentioned the other day: any time spin creates on a knuckleballer, it’s going to be a challenge for him, and a tough day. And it was for Steven he last time out. So, that’s where the attention has been paid in between these last two starts.”
