Carl Crawford completed his two-game rehab assignment Saturday night for the Pawtucket Red Sox against the Durham Bulls without re-injuring his left hamstring.
As a result, Crawford will meet Boston in Baltimore where it begins a three-game series on Monday.
The bad news was that Crawford, who again only played five innings in left field, was hitless in three at-bats and wasn’t able to manage even a loud foul ball. And, ironically, Crawford didn’t have to make any plays in the field.
“He got his work in and was happy with what he did,” PawSox manager Arnie Beyeler said. “He came in and got his treatment and got out of here. I haven’t gone into the training room yet but I think they would have told me if anything happened.
“I didn’t hear anything negative at all.”
Beyeler was the only person available to discuss Crawford’s performance because of the player’s “disappearing act.”
Crawford, who exited McCoy Stadium about a half-hour after leaving the game, left orders not to inform the media of plans until after he hit the road.
Durham right-hander Matt Torra, a Pittsfield native who attended UMass-Amherst, induced Crawford to swing and miss at an inside fastball in the first inning on a 1-2 pitch.
Crawford had an opportunity to flash his speed in the third when he hit a grounder to first baseman Dan Johnson. Johnson threw to Torra for the out but Crawford busted down the line and made a routine play close.
Durham led 7-1 entering the bottom of the fourth when Pawtucket rallied for two runs and had men on first and third with one out when manager Charlie Montoyo replaced Torra with left-hander R.J. Swindle.
Swindle, who throws with a three-quarter-arm delivery, jammed Crawford on a 3-2 pitch and Crawford popped out weakly to third base. Swindle kept Crawford off-balance during that at-bat with off-speed pitches.
Crawford’s inability to reach base proved costly when, after Ryan Lavarnway walked, Lars Anderson belted a grand slam homer that tied the game 7-7. Durham eventually won, 11-8.
“You can’t work on your timing in ‘BP’,” Beyeler said. “That’s why he came down here. He’s going to have to get his timing back and get going again. All these guys do the same thing. He’s going to have to get at-bats.
“But he’s a speed guy. He can put the ball in play and cause some havoc on the bases and play defense and do some stuff. From that standpoint, he’s still a dangerous guy. It’s not like he’s a ‘clogger’ so if he doesn’t hit, he doesn’t bring anything else to the table.
“He’ll put the ball in play and he’ll be a tough out until he gets things rolling,” Beyeler continued. “All some of these guys need is for the big league lights to turn on they’re ready to roll.”