Red Sox newcomer Curtis Mead leaves first game after getting hit by pitch: ‘Dodged a bullet maybe’

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Curtis Mead’s Red Sox debut was short — and painful.

After getting hit on the left wrist by a pitch during his plate appearance in the fourth inning, Mead exited during the fifth. The Red Sox announced during their 4-2 win that Mead had a bruised wrist and that X-rays were negative.

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Interim manager Chad Tracy described him as day-to-day.

“At least right now, it looks like we dodged a bullet maybe,” Tracy said.

Mead said: “Squeezing my hand feels okay. Just a little bit of pain rotating. We already got an X-ray and everything looked OK, so I’m hopeful that I’ll feel better tomorrow morning and it won’t be a problem.”

Mead was playing in his first game with the Sox after being acquired Saturday via trade with the Nationals. Batting second, he led off the top of the fourth against Athletics righthander Jack Perkins, who threw a 95-miles-per-hour fastball up and in.

It caught Mead on the outside of his bottom wrist. He was in obvious immediate pain and was slow to get to first base, at one point pausing to bend over in discomfort.

Upon reaching first, Mead paused again to gather himself. First-base umpire Mark Wegner chatted with Athletics first baseman Jeff McNeil to give Mead a moment.

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Mead stayed in the game, did not advance past first base, and took his position at second base in the bottom of the fourth. He did not field any balls.

In the fifth, he gripped a bat, just to see how it felt — and didn’t like the result.

“I wanted to kind of give it some time before I immediately let them know I couldn’t play,” Mead said. “I kind of went in after the inning was over and grabbed a bat, because hitting is going to be my main concern, and tried to swing. It didn’t really feel that great. That was probably the main concern.”

For the bottom of the fifth, Anthony Seigler replaced him at second.

Mead watched from the clubhouse as his new team rallied for a win.

“Pretty fun game,” he said. “At least we were able to win my first game. That was a cool part of it.”

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