On Saturday, the Red Sox made official what Hunter Dobbins knew as soon as it happened:
The injury that forced the right-hander out of Friday night’s game after just 1.2 innings is a right ACL tear.
“I’ve torn my ACL on this knee before, and it was the same feeling,” explained Dobbins, as he stood in the clubhouse Saturday afternoon. “High school football. Guy dove at my knees just trying to make a tackle.”
The rookie was in visible discomfort after rushing to cover first base to make the second out of the inning. Though he initially struggled to put weight on his right leg, he didn’t leave the game right away. Dobbins, manager Alex Cora, and a trainer spoke near first base, then walked over to the mound, where Dobbins threw a warmup pitch. After that, they all walked off the field together.
“Kind of some denial went into it, tried to throw that warmup pitch, felt the same sensation again so at that point, I knew what it was,” the righty said.
Dobbins was undergoing an MRI as the Red Sox won their eighth game in a row, on a walk-off two-run homer by Ceddanne Rafaela.
Friday was Dobbins’ first start since June 20, after which he went on the injured list with an elbow strain.
“(I’m) pretty disappointed,” he said. “I want to be out there helping these guys win. You know, last night, outside of the first batter of the game, felt like I had some really good stuff. It was kind of the best I’ve felt in a while, so to kind of go down like that and know I’m out for the year, is pretty tough.”
Right-hander Richard Fitts, whom the Red Sox optioned earlier this week in order to add Dobbins back to the rotation, has been recalled from Triple-A Worcester.
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