BOSTON - Dustin Pedroia made it very clear: He still wants to play as much as he ever has. But coming off a strained hamstring, the Red Sox are being extra careful this time - and he understands why.
It was obvious that Pedroia rushed his first return back from the same injury, as after six games back after the All-Star break he was just 1-for-22 at the plate and not himself in the field, either. That landed him right back on the disabled list on July 23, where he'd remain for 42 games until Tuesday.
But now it's different. Pedroia finished 1-for-4 with a double in his return, and turned a couple nice double-plays, too. He showed no signs of soreness in his first game back, but was lifted after the ninth inning as the Sox don't want to push anything too soon.
Pedroia will never willingly take himself out of a game, but if it means being able to play in the next game, that's an easy decision.
"Dustin checked out real good," Torey Lovullo said. "He did fight me when I took him out of the game. I was anticipating that. I explained to him that I know you want to play tomorrow, there's only one chance you can play tomorrow and that's if you come out of this game right now. We'll reevaluate him tomorrow and see where he's at. We have, like I said, a soft template in place, but it's all going to be contingent on how he feels tonight and tomorrow morning.
"But everything was fine. He saw the ball well, nothing moved too fast for him at the plate, made some really nice double-play turns, made a couple really nice overall plays on defense, he ran the bases well without any limitations and that's what we're looking for."
Despite the 5-1 loss to the Blue Jays, Pedroia was happy to be out there with his teammates and not have to report any health problems after the game.
"I was a little upset they took me out after the ninth, but I felt great," Pedroia said. "Just wish we'd won. We played hard. Just couldn't find a way to score some more runs."
The Sox faced knuckleballer R.A. Dickey on Tuesday so Pedroia didn't get his usual mix of pitches. But after seeing a fastball in the sixth inning, he ripped the next pitch, a 74 MPH knuckleball, off the wall in left field for a double. Had it been a pitch that came in a little faster, it may have gone out.
"It kind of darted inside," Pedroia said. "He doesn't throw it hard enough for me, I don't think, to hit a home run. I'm not that strong. It's just good to be out there and play again."
Lovullo said Pedroia may have been thinking about the hamstring after he came off the disabled list the first time around. Through one game this time, that isn't the case.
"I was just playing, which was fun," Pedroia said. "Being out there and playing defense not thinking about it. Just trying to make plays and help us out."