Moreland dealing with sore right hamstring
Red Sox first baseman is hoping to be ready for Game 3
BOSTON -- The Red Sox had to remove Mitch Moreland from a 6-2 loss in Game 2 of the American League Division Series on Saturday night when the first baseman tweaked his right hamstring scoring from first on a double by Ian Kinsler.
The injury is not believed to be significant enough to take Moreland off the Division Series roster, but there are no guarantees he will be ready to start Monday's Game 3 against righty ace Luis Severino at Yankee Stadium.
• ALDS presented by T-Mobile, Game 3: Tonight, 7:40 p.m. ET on TBS
:: ALDS schedule and results ::
"I'm hoping so," Moreland said. "Hopefully we caught it early enough. When I rounded between third and home, felt it grab a little bit. I came out and we'll see how it feels tomorrow."
Moreland is one of Boston's key bats in the middle of the order, though he didn't have a good second half of the season at the plate.
The Red Sox do have good depth at first base. If Moreland can't go, manager Alex Cora would be able to turn to Steve Pearce or Brock Holt. Pearce has been tremendous success against the Yankees since joining Boston in June. Holt was one of the club's hottest hitters in September, and he has yet to play in this series.
It was Pearce who replaced Moreland in the eighth inning in Game 2.
Moreland finished 1-for-3 on the night, after hitting .245 with 15 home runs in 124 regular-season games. He did not start Game 1 of the ALDS with Yankees lefty J.A. Happ on the mound, but he was back in the lineup on Saturday against right-hander Masahiro Tanaka.