By Sean McAdam
CSNNE.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- David Ortiz swiped a base Wednesday in the Red Sox' 6-1 exhibition loss to the Braves and, in the process, may have given tea leave-readers a hint about the Sox' batting order, currently being held secret by the team.
With first baseman Freddie Freeman not holding Ortiz on at first in the fourth inning, Ortiz took off for second and got there successfully.
Ortiz was told to run, because, according to Terry Francona, "if J.D.'s behind him, having that hole between first and second over there is something that J.D. really uses. We just want them to respect that hole a little bit."
It's been widely assumed Ortiz will bat sixth in the Boston batting order with Drew hitting seventh, and Francona's statement did nothing to discourage that.
Ortiz went 3-for-3 and is now hitting .625 this spring.
Brent Dlugach underwent an MRI on his dislocated left shoulder Wednesday morning and should have the results by Thursday morning.
Boston Red Sox
"This is the first time I've done this," said Dlugach, who suffered the injury charging a popped-up bunt attempt Tuesday afternoon against Minnesota. "Obviously, hoping for good things. It didn't feel good, but once it got popped back into place, it felt a lot better."
Dlugach was in camp as a non-roster invitee, hoping to catch on as a utility infielder.
"Obviously, it frustrating," said Dlugach. "But it's one of those things. Stuff happens. It's not as much what happens as how you deal with it. I'm trying to go about it with a positive attitude. I'm hoping for good things and positive results."
Four years ago, Dlugach had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder and hopes "to use that experience to my advantage."
Dlugach has already begun some limited range-of-motion exercises and is icing the shoulder.
Lefty Hideki Okajima, who was rocked for four runs on five hits Sunday night against the Minnesota Twins, rebounded with an efficient 1-2-3 innings with two strikeouts. "Anytime you see Okie get swings and misses on his fastball," said Francona, "that pretty much tells you he's locating it." . . . The Sox aren't sending a lot of regulars to Tampa for their meeting with the Yankees on Friday night. Clay Buccholz will start, but the position players will include Daniel Nava, Darnell McDonald, Jed Lowrie, Ryan Kalish and Jason Varitek . . . Alex Wilson had a rough relief outing, walking four and allowing three runs, two of them earned. Wilson, a second-round pick from Texas A&M in 2009, is regarded as a possible future closer.
Sean McAdam can be reached at smcadam@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Sean on Twitter at http:twitter.comsean_mcadam