JUPITER, Fla. -- Red Sox reliever Carson Smith had to leave Monday's game against the Cardinals after just five pitches due to tightness in his right forearm, and he will undergo further tests when he returns to Fort Myers.
"The second-to-last pitch I threw, I felt it a little bit, and it happened on the next pitch again," Smith said after Boston's 4-3 victory. "At that point, I don't know who recognized it, whether it was my catcher, manager or trainer in the dugout. I was fiddling around out there with my arm, and they came out and checked on me, and I told them what was happening and, [as a precaution], they took me out."
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Losing Smith would be significant, as the Red Sox plan on him being a key part of their improved bullpen.
"I think there's always concern," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "At this point and time of the year, you're certainly not going to take any chances at all, so we backed him out of it. We'll see what the evaluation produces."
By the time Smith spoke to reporters after the game, he no longer felt any discomfort in his arm.
The side-winder, coming off a strong rookie season, hopes the tests don't show anything alarming.
"Yeah, I'm concerned," Smith said. "It's my career. Everybody, when you feel something in your forearm, you're going to be concerned. Who knows how serious it is. We did some [initial] testing in there, and they were optimistic. I'll see the doctor when I get back and go from there."