A knee injury forced Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland to leave Thursday’s afternoon tilt against the Cleveland Indians before the first inning was in the books.
Moreland appeared to hurt his balky left knee in the top of the first when he slid into the camera well in foul territory while going for a pop-up off the bat of Yandy Diaz. He sat on the ground for a few seconds before lifting himself up, and remained in the game. He legged out a bloop single in the bottom of the inning (lost in the sun by Cleveland left fielder Melky Cabrera), but then took himself out for a pinch-runner.
“It hurt as soon as I hit it,” Moreland said. “Obviously, I’m trying to walk it off, trying to get through it. It was a little sharper at first, but now it just feels like a pretty good bruise.”
The Red Sox later announced that Moreland departed with a left knee contusion. Manager Alex Cora said he should be fine within the next few days, but the situation is worth monitoring. Moreland has battled a knee injury since early July, and his numbers dipped because of it. After hitting .278 with 10 homers and 13 doubles in his first 54 games of the season, the All-Star first baseman hit just .234 with five homers in his last 48 games. For the season, Moreland is hitting .259 with 15 homers 20 doubles and 66 RBIs.
What makes the injury more worrisome is that Moreland had surgery on the meniscus in his left knee during the offseason.
Blake Swihart took over for him on the base paths and at first base on Thursday, and went 2-for-4 with a key two-run double to start a six-run rally for Boston in the fifth inning.
