Moreland day to day with back spasms

WASHINGTON -- Red Sox manager Alex Cora had planned on giving first baseman Mitch Moreland a day off on Wednesday anyway. Now he has a reason to besides rest.
Moreland had to exit Tuesday's 11-4 win over the Nationals in the bottom of the third inning due to back spasms.
"Take advantage of the two days -- tomorrow and the off-day -- and see if he's ready to play on Friday," said Cora.
"It's tight, obviously. I didn't really feel it on a specific swing or anything," said Moreland. "I was kind of running the bases, and it felt like it got tighter and tighter. [I] went back out for that one inning and kind of went after that one ball on the bag, and it was tight by that time. I tried to come in and get it loose for my at-bat, but didn't really have much time to do much. AC was just like, 'Let's play it safe.' So I came in, got some treatment, threw some ice on it and let it rest a little bit."
Steve Pearce, who was acquired by the Red Sox last week in a trade with the Blue Jays, replaced Moreland. Pearce made his presence felt right away when he smacked a double to left to lead off the fourth. He also added an RBI single in the fifth.

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Moreland has been an important cog for the Red Sox this season, hitting .288 with 11 homers and 40 RBIs. He singled in his first at-bat on Tuesday, eventually scoring on Eduardo Núñez's three-run homer.

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