Projo Sox Blog

By Joe McDonald
Journal Sports Writer

PAWTUCKET _ Red Sox outfielder/first baseman Mark Kotsay continued his rehab with the PawSox Sunday afternoon, but suffered a setback in his second plate appearance of the game.

In the bottom of the third inning, the left-handed hitter hit a grounder in the hole at short, and while he was running up the first-base line, he pulled up and was thrown out. He crossed the bag and bent over in pain.

Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson quickly started towards Kotsay, who made a hand gesture across his throat that he was done.

Kotsay just left McCoy Stadium, wearing a thermal wrap around his right calf and said he suffered a mild strain.

"We'll wait until tomorrow to see how serious it is. At this point I would consider it a mild calf strain," he said.

Kotsay, who re-signed with the Red Sox during the offseason, has yet to play this season. His rehab from back surgery was going well and he was expected to be activated from the DL in the next couple of days.

He said it's frustrating having this happen now, especially since he was so close to returning with Boston.

"Definitely," he said. "This really wasn't in the game plan, so we'll have to deal with it and try to get through it."

He said he'll return to McCoy Stadium on Monday and test his strength level before moving forward.

Kotsay, who had the back surgery in January, began his minor-league rehab with Pawtucket on Saturday as the DH. He was slated to play six innings in center field on Sunday and bat in the lead-off spot.

He went 0-for-2 before leaving the game Sunday.

 Tags  Mark Kotsay PawSox Red Sox

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