FORT MYERS, Fla. — James Paxton’s Grapefruit League start Friday against the Twins marked the lefthander’s first outing in close to two years.
But it was over in a hurry.
Paxton left the mound with right hamstring tightness after just 1⅔ innings.
“My hamstring just grabbed on me a little bit just as I was kind of starting to find that firing pin to let the ball go a little bit harder,” Paxton said. “I wanted to step on it a little bit and the hamstring just grabbed.”
When Sox trainers and manager Alex Cora went to check on Paxton, the veteran starter was grabbing at his hamstring.
What’s next for Paxton is still to be determined. He will undergo testing to determine the extent of the injury.
Regardless, Friday’s problem, while not as severe as other issues, adds to Paxton’s injury list in recent years.
Paxton, 34, underwent Tommy John surgery while with the Mariners in 2021. He spent all of last year, his first with the Red Sox, on the injured list after a couple of setbacks, including a lat tear in his throwing shoulder that ultimately ended his season.
“This is not how I wanted this to go,” Paxton said. “I wanted to go through spring training clean, but I can’t control that. I can only control going to work on this now and do whatever I can to get back out there.”
Paxton threw 19 pitches, striking out one batter. He was replaced by minor league lefthander Rio Gomez.
“It’s a shame because he was throwing the [expletive] out of the ball,” Cora said following the Sox’ 9-4 win. “His velocity was up and his location was great and that happened. Hopefully it’s nothing and we can just continue to move on.”
Ortiz is in camp
David Ortiz arrived Friday at Fenway South in his typical jubilant mood.
The Hall of Famer and Red Sox legend walked around the clubhouse, embracing every player he saw.
It was an exciting but different experience for the former slugger, with so many new faces and one face missing — Xander Bogaerts’s.
“I retired six years ago, and every [spring], I came back, the first guy coming out to give me a hug was Bogey,” Ortiz said. “Not seeing him around is [different]. But that’s the game. That’s the business. I can call myself lucky enough that I played here for a long time and I ended my career here.”
Ortiz played with Bogaerts for parts of four seasons, building a tight-knit bond. Although he never played with Rafael Devers, one of the remaining familiar faces, Ortiz has known the third baseman since he was 15. Since Devers signed his 10-year extension that will likely keep him in a Sox uniform for the remainder of his career, Ortiz wants them to build an even stronger relationship.
Ortiz, more than any Sox player in the 21st century, knows what it means to be a face of the franchise in a market like Boston. Devers is now the face of the team and Ortiz wants to make sure he passes his knowledge down to a player who still is working toward embracing the limelight.
“We get to be raised as baseball players coming from the Dominican Republic,” Ortiz said. “Your priority is just playing baseball. [But] he has to start adding things to his résumé, and sometimes players don’t feel comfortable dealing with it.
“In his case, he has to be different because he’s the face of the organization, face of the franchise. So at some point he’s going to have to get there, and that’s what the organization is working on, making sure that happens.”
As for the upcoming season, Ortiz is embracing the Sox as underdogs.
“Not many people pay attention to you,” he said. “They focus on the big dog and that’s when the underdog shows up and does what we have done in the past.”
Wong’s strain a Grade 1
Catcher Connor Wong was diagnosed with a mild (Grade 1) left hamstring strain after leaving Thursday’s game against the Phillies.
Wong is undergoing treatment and the Sox will have more details on his timetable to return once he progresses past the initial stages. The injury could disrupt Wong’s chances of making the Opening Day roster, which could crack the door for Jorge Alfaro, who is in camp on a minor league deal.
Two other catchers homered Friday. Reese McGuire started against the Twins and hit a grand slam in the third inning. He was replaced by Caleb Hamilton, who hit a solo shot in the eighth.
Julian McWilliams can be reached at julian.mcwilliams@globe.com. Follow him @byJulianMack.