Red Sox lefty James Paxton leaves in 1st inning with calf strain after covering 1st base

BOSTON (AP) — Boston Red Sox left-hander James Paxton limped off the field after injuring his right lower leg while making a quick move to cover first on a grounder in the opening inning Sunday against Houston.

The Red Sox announced two innings later that it was a right calf strain.

“I felt like I got kicked in the calf. Then, I kind of turned around, took another step and I felt it again,” Paxton said after the Astros beat the Red Sox 10-2, completing a three-game sweep. “I was like: ‘It’s not good. It’s my calf.’ I felt it pop.”

The 35-year-old Paxton turned quickly and was heading off the mound on Yordan Alvarez’s grounder to first baseman Dominic Smith. He looked back at the mound briefly, then went down to one knee and struggled to put weight on the leg when he got up.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora and a trainer came out before Paxton limped to the dugout, with the help of the trainer, and slowly made his way down the steps to the clubhouse. Paxton was replaced by righty Lucas Sims after getting just two outs.

“I’ve never had a calf (injury) before, first time,” Paxton said. “It hurts. I was feeling really good. I was looking forward to helping this team go where they want to go. Hopefully, I can comeback at some point here before the end.”

Cora said he’ll go for more tests Monday.

“He’ll get an MRI (Monday),” he said. “We’ll see where we’re at. Tough one. He’s been healthy the whole season.”

Alvarez was safe on the play, as Smith wasn’t able to beat him to the bag.

Paxton made his third start since Boston acquired him in a trade from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“Yeah. I think so,” injured Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story said when asked if the Red Sox have proven they deserve roster help. ”Obviously, they’ve exceeded a lot of expectations from people outside the room. I think we expected ourselves to be in this situation.

“I think we will (add). The Red Sox organization has never not gone for it while holding a position like this. I feel good about that.”

Jansen and Story appear to be taking a cue from their manager, Alex Cora, who has insisted for weeks that his team is a legitimate playoff contender that deserves roster reinforcements.

“You look around the league, we’ve been probably one of the best teams in the big leagues the last month and a half,” Cora said earlier this month. “… We believe in what we’re doing here. Now we just gotta be patient and let’s see what happens in the upcoming weeks.”

So, will Breslow listen to his clubhouse and swing a trade or two to improve the roster (and will ownership give Breslow the green light to do so)? Cotillo notes the Red Sox have done “a lot of feeling out” over the past few days and have had exploratory conversations with multiple teams. They’ve reportedly called the Chicago Cubs about right-hander Jameson Taillon, and Los Angeles Angels infielder Luis Rengifo could be a target as well.

At this point, it sounds like morale in Boston’s clubhouse would take a big hit if the team doesn’t add before Tuesday’s deadline, which raises the stakes for Breslow and the front office over the next eight days.

___