MLB teams
Gordon Edes, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Dustin Pedroia gets cortisone shot

MLB, Boston Red Sox

CHICAGO -- Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia said Tuesday he was given a cortisone shot to stem the inflammation in his left wrist, in an area close to where he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb a year ago.

And while Pedroia expressed relief that tests showed the wrist wasn't fractured -- "If it was broke, I'd have been out a long time" -- the condition sounds like one that could be troublesome throughout the year.

Pedroia underwent surgery to repair the UCL in his left thumb last November, after electing to play through his injury, which occurred on the first day of the 2013 season. He continues to undergo therapy on the thumb, and while he maintains that the thumb ligament has healed, he mentioned that "everything is connected."

Manager John Farrell said it was his understanding that the wrist injury was unrelated to the thumb ligament. There is no additional ligament damage, Farrell said, and once the inflammation has subsided, the Sox will monitor Pedroia's activity -- early hitting and such -- to limit the chances that he will aggravate the condition.

Pedroia sustained the wrist injury in the ninth inning of the home opener April 4, when Brewers OF Carlos Gomez upended him with a takeout slide on a force play.

"I just got caught in a weird angle when I was taken out," he said. "Everything was inflamed, and you keep swinging and playing it just adds up until you think something is really wrong.

"I landed kind of awkwardly. I thought it was general soreness from the rehab, but the more I swung I kept feeling weaker and aching, things like that."

Pedroia took early hitting before Sunday's game, then was scratched from Farrell's lineup against the Yankees for that night's contest. He is batting just .139 (5-for-36) in his last eight games, Farrell saying his slump is directly related to the injury.

Pedroia noted that it usually takes 24 to 48 hours after a cortisone shot is administered before you can resume playing, but he replaced Mike Napoli in the top of the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday when Napoli was injured sliding into second base. Pedroia remained in the game in the bottom of the ninth and played second base.

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