FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Alex Cora joked that Dustin Pedroia, in anticipation of his first spring training game of the year, was dressed and in full uniform by 7 a.m. Thursday.
Pedroia, blushing some, insisted that his manager was exaggerating his eagerness, though, with a ferocious cut at the first pitch he'd seen in a game since last May 29, it might have been only slight hyperbole by Cora.
Clearly, Pedroia was excited to be back in action, and brief though it may have been -- he had one at-bat as the leadoff hitter in the Red Sox' 12-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins and played two innings in the field -- it was judged a success.
"It was fun to be out there,'' said a beaming Pedroia. "It was the first step, so we'll keep building and I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Everything felt good. So far, so good.''
Pedroia's time, while brief, was eventful. He singled off the glove of Ronald Torreyes, advance to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single to center.
When Pedroia took the field in the top of the first, and again in the bottom of the inning, Pedroia was greeted with applause at jetBlue Park as fans welcomed him back to action.
"It was great,'' he said of the response. "I appreciate it so much. Everyone knows what I've been going through, so it definitely pushes me towards getting back all the way and being out there every day.
Things have changed since 2017 when Pedroia was last an everyday player. The Red Sox, for instance, now shift their infielders around from hitter to hitter far more than they did under John Farrell and that requires Pedroia to move more. When Jonathan Schoop, a righthanded hitter came to the plate, Pedroia found himself on the left side of the infield.
"It's different,'' conceded Pedroia, "but that's the game now. We practice all that stuff, too, so the more you practice certain stuff in certain spots, you get more comfortable. Practice makes you more confident to make the plays in crazy spots.''
Another change: Pedroia has modified his pre-pitch leap to cut down on the wear-and-tear on his knee.
"I've been trying to,'' Pedroia said. "Everyone says, 'Stop jumping all the time.' Well, if a ball is hit (beyond his range) and I don't get to it, they're going to be like, 'Can you get to that ball?' Well, hell, I've got to jump. But I'm trying. I'm trying my best to limit extra movements and things like that.''
Pedroia would make no predictions or offer any guarantees about what's to come. Thursday was a success and now he's moving on.
"I'm really not thinking about it,'' said Pedroia. "It's just one day at a time. That's how I look at it.''
Pedroia is scheduled to be back in the lineup Saturday.
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