BALTIMORE -- After injuring his left knee on Manny Machado's slide on Friday night, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia was not in the starting lineup on Saturday. Pedroia said he is fine with the whole situation, but manager John Farrell was not quite as happy.
Pedroia and Farrell both said the second baseman is dealing with a sore left knee and ankle and is day-to-day. The Boston skipper said he talked with Major League Baseball Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre on Saturday about the situation, and Farrell expressed his frustration with the sliding rule.
"There was some conversation with the league today," Farrell said Saturday afternoon. "Clearly, there's a difference in opinion in how that rule was interpreted, and certainly the slide. Bottom line is this: if that slide last night is not deemed an illegal slide, we should just get rid of the rule."
Farrell wanted the rule enforced and for the Red Sox to be awarded a double play. But the umpires said since Pedroia did not try to finish the double play, they wouldn't do it. Farrell didn't like that at all and was still debating the rule a day later.
"As I said after the game last night, there's got to be [a] deliberate attempt to turn a double play," Farrell said. "I don't know how you can do that when you've got someone laying on your left leg on the left-field side of second base. Still, that was an extremely late slide, and, in my view, an illegal slide."
Pedroia was not nearly as upset. He kind of shrugged everything off Friday night and was doing the same thing Saturday.
When asked if he saw the replay, Pedroia said, "I saw it. I don't care. It's baseball. I was trying to get one out, you know what I mean? So I just put my foot on the back part of the base to get that out. If he just slid into the part of the base that I gave him, he'd have been safe. Luckily he didn't; we got the out."
Pedroia took the same attitude when asked if he thought Machado made a dirty play.
"I'm not the baseball police, man," the veteran said. "I got three kids. I don't have time for that."
Pedroia said he did receive a text message from Machado saying that he hoped the second baseman was all right. He thanked the Baltimore third baseman for reaching out.
When asked if he was all right with the whole situation, Pedroia just shrugged and kind of shook his head.
"I don't have an issue with anything -- my job's to play baseball and win," Pedroia said. "This isn't seventh grade, man. You know what I mean? I just play baseball. That's it. I care about our guys. I don't care about anybody else. So we just play the game."
Meanwhile, Xander Bogaerts was back in the lineup, although his sore thumb is not perfect yet. Marco Hernandez got into the lineup at second base, batting ninth.
Also, the Red Sox will check again on pitcher David Price (left elbow), who felt good. The team will decide then on when and where the lefty will throw next.