PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Prior to Friday night's game in Pawtucket, Red Sox left fielder Carl Crawford said he was eager to chase down a fly ball or make a hard stop on the basepaths to find out if his hamstring is fully healed.
He got that chance in the bottom of the bottom of the third inning. Running aggressively past second base on a hit and run, Crawford slammed on the breaks when the ground ball that slipped past Ray Olmedo was quickly recovered.
Without a hint of pain, Crawford backpedaled safely to second.
"It felt good to have a chance to test it like that," Crawford said in the PawSox weight room after he left the game between the fifth and sixth innings of the PawSox' 3-2 win over the Durham Bulls on Friday at McCoy Stadium. "I got to test it in the outfield, and when you stop like that, something can happen to it then, too."
Crawford, who has been on the disabled list since straining his hamstring June 17, is scheduled to play one more game here Saturday, take Sunday off, and join the Red Sox on Monday in Baltimore.
His rehab stint conveniently comes against the Bulls, the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and the last minor league team Crawford played for.
"It was cool," Crawford said of playing an affiliate of his old team. "I got to see a few guys over there that I knew, so I got a chance to talk with them, catch up a little bit."
Batting third in the PawSox lineup, Crawford went 1-for-2 with a walk in his first action in nearly a month. He hit a bloop single into center field to score Che-Hsuan Lin in his first at-bat and drew a walk in his second plate appearance.
The walk was what led to the hard stop on the bases, but even that positive sign wasn't enough to keep PawSox manager Arnie Beyeler from playing it safe when the next batter singled to left field. Beyeler threw up the stop sign at third base and the PawSox went on to strand the bases loaded.
Crawford's next time on base, playing it safe was not necessary. With Crawford on first after reaching on a fielder's choice, Ryan Lavarnway pounded a home run over the bullpen in left field, allowing Crawford to jog across home plate.
Ronald Bermudez replaced Crawford in left field at the start of the sixth inning.
One rehab game down, one to go. Crawford is slated to be in left field again Saturday when the PawSox host the Bulls at 6:05 p.m.
He said his goal for Saturday's game is modest.
"Just see if I can do it two days in a row," Crawford said. "Make sure there's no pain the second day. After that, I think I'll be ready to go."
