Buchholz back on mound, feels good after session

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Six days after tweaking his hamstring during the first official team workout, Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz got back on the mound on Monday, throwing roughly 45 pitches in a side session.

"It felt good. Everything was good," said Buchholz. "I was 80 percent to start and then finished at about 85 percent. I just let a couple of them go, just testing. Everything was fine. A little stiffness and soreness is all that was there. I talked to the guys in the training room -- that's to be expected. Hopefully in a couple of days I'll be free of everything."

In fact, if Buchholz progresses as expected, he will throw live batting practice on Wednesday.

The injury news was not as encouraging for lefty reliever Craig Breslow, who has been sidelined with some weakness in his shoulder.

"Still getting treatment," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "Probably not responding as fast as we all anticipated. I want to say maybe a little bit of a plateau right now. The MRI that he underwent didn't show any significant changes. We're still trying to get that inflammation out of there."