BALTIMORE -- The original plan was to send Mookie Betts to Salem, Virginia, where he would suit up with the Red Sox' Single-A affiliate for at least a game to test his ailing left abdominal muscle. But at about 4 p.m. he emerged in the clubhouse with a smile on his face and clearly the news he was waiting for.
After two weeks out of the Red Sox' lineup, Betts was cleared to play for the big league club.
"Just talking with (Red Sox manager Alex Cora) AC and (Dave) Dombrowski and just decided to go ahead and jump right into it," said Betts prior to the Sox' series opener against the Orioles Monday night. "I think through this whole thing, I've felt not so bad because it wasn't like a big tear. It wasn't anything that really to turn I guess to or from. It was just a matter of letting it kind of heal and letting it come together. The only real thing I couldn't do was hit. But every other activity I was fine doing."
But with swinging the bat such an important part of the equation, there was certainly some hesitancy to dive back into the Sox' lineup so soon. But, as Cora explained, the right fielder passed all the tests, including running through the gauntlet that is preparing with J.D. Martinez.
"I think just watching him you can tell," Cora explained. "With the conviction he swung the last two days, what he went through, we're there. We're very comfortable with the decision we made. There was a lot. Yesterday the only thing he didn't do was get four at-bats at the big league level. He went through all the checkpoints, all the stations as he has before the game. I was telling Joe (Castiglione) during my interview that he's in the J.D. Martinez program so there's a lot of working. He did well. He feels fine. He feels like he's ready to go."
(Asked how many players were in the "J.D. Martinez program" Cora surmised about five, although he wouldn't reveal identities.
"I feel like I've been ready to play for a couple days," Betts said. "It gets sore sometimes but I think that's just meaning the muscles are working."
- Tyler Thornburg is creeping closer to major league action, having come off another solid outing for Triple-A Pawtucket. His step will be to spend the three-game series at Camden Yards with the Red Sox before pitching again for the PawSox, Thursday in Lehigh Valley.
"It was a good time for him to obviously take a step back but also in the training room, understand how to deal with it," said Cora. "He's a guy that, when healthy, everybody knows what he can do. It's just a matter of getting there, being able to bounce back, instead of being a guy who pitches one way and can't pitch for three. That doesn't work here at the big league level. We need guys to be available, be able to pitch, and he's getting to that point."
Regarding Thornburg's most recent outing, Cora added, "I think velocity has sustained, 94-95 (mph). Breaking ball a little inconsistent but everything that we get from Walk (Kevin Walker) and KB (Kevin Boles) is he's repeating his delivery. The fastball up is a good one, I think right now it's just a matter of him to be able to do it on back to back days and the quote-unquote grind, be ready to pitch at this level is the most important thing."
- Drew Pomeranz, who is recovering from biceps tendonitis, had a small setback, limiting what he could participate in Monday.
"Pomeranz, he threw yesterday again, but today he has a stiff neck," Cora said. "Same hotel, same brand. I don't know if he slept on the wrong side or whatever. He was feeling better but he has that."
