BOSTON -- David Ortiz resumes his quest for 500 on schedule.
Ortiz had to leave Sunday's game -- after hitting the 497th homer of his career -- after two plate appearances because of a nagging calf injury. But he's back in the lineup today as the Red Sox open a three-game series against the first-place Blue Jays.
"In David's case, obviously he left the game yesterday and my discussion with him last night and then this morning he was going to come in early and get evaluated by the doctors," Torey Lovullo said. "Our medical team did a great job touching a couple things up, so at a certain point it made perfect sense to put him in there."
Ortiz hit home run No. 497 on Sunday, one day after hitting No. 496. The Blue Jays come to town at just the right time, too, as Ortiz is the all-time leader in home runs against the Blue Jays with 58. He's also hit four home runs against them over his last six games.
Lovullo doesn't see him feeling any pressure as he approaches No. 500.
"I can't. He's the same every day, and I think that's one of his great gifts," Lovullo said. "He doesn't let the moment get too big or get distracted by anything. He's just going out there and doing the thing that he's done best for so many years. He's a great teammate, very relaxed in the clubhouse, he hasn't changed one bit for me. I don't think he feels the pressure of the moment. He wants to do it, we all know that. We're all excited about it. I thin a lot of people around him are more excited than he is."
Pablo Sandoval makes his return to the Red Sox lineup as well, as Sandoval missed the three-game series against the Phillies with back tightness.
Boston Red Sox
"We're real excited to get Pablo back," Lovullo said. "I know that he was a little disappointed to miss the time that he did and he worked hard to make this day happen. So we're happy for him and we're excited that he's back and able to produce the way we want him to."
The lineups:
RED SOX
Mookie Betts, CF
Pablo Sandoval, 3B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
David Ortiz, DH
Travis Shaw, 1B
Rusney Castillo, LF
Brock Holt, 2B
Blake Swihart, C
Jackie Bradley Jr., RF
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Rick Porcello, P
BLUE JAYS
Ben Revere, LF
Josh Donaldson, 3B
Jose Bautista, RF
Edwin Encarnacion, DH
Troy Tulowitzki, SS
Justin Smoak, 1B
Russell Martin, C
Ryan Goins, 2B
Kevin Pillar, CF
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Mark Buehrle, P