FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Slowed by an infected toe earlier in spring, Ryan Brasier finally got on a mound Wednesday and pitched to hitters in a 20-pitch live batting practice session at jetBlue Park.
"Felt good to get out there and face some hitters,'' said Brasier, "and hopefully get in a game in a couple of days.''
Brasier developed the infection in his right pinky toe late last month, necessitating a trip back to Boston for treatment and a no-throw period that followed for a few days. Slowly, he's attempted to catch up with frequent throwing sessions.
The fear, initially, was that if Brasier rushed back too soon, he would adjust his mechanics in response to the soreness in the toe and jeopardize another part of his body as he compensated.
"Everything feels good,'' said Brasier. "My arm felt good. We had to get to a point where I trusted it and wasn't altering my delivery to something different and hurt my arm or hurt something else. I think it's in a spot where we'll see how I feel (Thursday) and the next day and hopefully be in a game this weekend.''
With Opening Day just over two weeks away, Brasier believes there's adequate time to get caught up and be ready when the games count.
"For sure,'' he said. "I don't know many games I'm going to get into or how many they want me to get in, but hopefully, I'll get in three or four. If the stuff looks good and I'm feeling good, I'll be ready to go. It was going to be a little shorter spring anyway in terms of getting into games (as the Sox hold back pitchers who had a bigger workload last postseason), but I feel like I'm right there.''
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