Mookie Betts ‘fine’ after exiting sixth inning with ‘soreness’ on left side

Mookie Betts, accompanied by a team trainer Masai Takahashi, leaves the field in the sixth inning with soreness on his left side. He expected to be fine for Tuesday’s game at Yankee Stadium. Jim Davis/Globe Staff

As the Red Sox were waiting for a replay review to be concluded in the sixth inning, Jackie Bradley Jr. noticed that Mookie Betts was stretching out his left side a little bit more than what would be normal.

Bradley got the attention of assistant athletic trainer Masai Takahashi and within a few minutes Betts was out of the game.

“I knew something was wrong with him,” Bradley said after Sunday’s 4-3 victory against the Mets. “I said to Mookie, ‘Let’s not take any chances.’ He agreed.”

The Red Sox announced that Betts had “soreness” and would be further evaluated. But the All-Star right fielder expects to play in New York on Tuesday with the Sox having a chance to clinch the American League East.

“It’ll be fine,” Betts said.

Betts said he has had some soreness for a few days but only when he throws, not when he hits.

Betts was on the disabled list from May 29 to June 11 with an abdominal strain on his left side. But this is not as serious. The plan is for Betts to get some treatment on Monday at Yankee Stadium and be in the lineup as the designated hitter on Tuesday.

“He’ll be OK,” manager Alex Cora said.

The injury, such as it was, occurred in the sixth inning. With runners on first and third and one out, Wilmer Flores sent a fly ball to right field.

Betts made the catch, but his throw to the plate was weak and bounced twice. Austin Jackson scored on the play.

Betts made a stronger throw to the plate earlier in the inning.

“Kind of flared back up on the second throw,” he said. “Like I said, it’ll be fine.”

Betts is hitting .337 with 29 home runs, 72 RBIs, 28 stolen bases and 118 runs.

Sale of the century

Chris Sale went three scoreless innings in what amounted to a rehab start. That added to what are some impressive statistics.

Sale has thrown 32 consecutive scoreless innings since July 6. That’s the longest streak in the majors this season and the longest for a Red Sox pitcher since Pedro Martinez went 35 innings in 2002.

Sale has allowed one run in the last 48 innings, which seems impossible.

Sale has not allowed a home run in 72 innings. Sale also temporarily reclaimed the American League earned run average lead at 1.92. He has 150 innings after 150 games, right on the number needed to qualify.

A pitcher needs one inning per games his team has played to qualify.

Reviewing the reviewers

Cora and coaching staff assistant J.T. Watkins will take a tour of MLB’s replay review center in Manhattan on Monday.

“I’ve never been there. Not as a coach,” Cora said. “Talk to people, meet people, see the system and all that.”

MLB encourages managers and coaches to visit the review center to better understand how it works. Watkins is the staff member who watches replays to decide whether to challenge calls.

Rest up

Xander Bogaerts, and J.D. Martinez had days off. With the team off on Monday, Cora wanted to give them an extended break.

You can expect some exotic lineups over the final 12 games. Cora wants to make sure his regulars are healthy and rested for the postseason.

“Just taking advantage of two days,” Cora said. “You’re going to start seeing this probably a little bit more throughout the week. Obviously we haven’t finished our job. We still have some games to play. But we’ll take advantage of the schedule and keep them fresh and off their feet.”

The Yankees are fighting with the Athletics for home field in the Wild Card game on Oct. 3. But Cora feels no responsibility to use his standard lineup against the Yankees.

“Nope. I owe it to our team, whatever we have to do to be close to 100 percent to wherever we go, that’s what I have to do,” he said. “You know how I feel when our regulars don’t play. It’s still a good lineup. It’s capable of scoring a lot of runs.”

Cora said he wants to rest some of his primary relievers and “take care” of the starters.

Nunez about ready

Eduardo Nunez missed his third consecutive game with a sore right knee. But he was available off the bench and is scheduled to start on Tuesday. Nunez ran through some agility drills in the outfield before the game and looked fine . . . Matt Barnes, who has not pitched since Sept. 3 because of hip inflammation, threw in the bullpen again. He is close to being ready for a game . . . The Red Sox finished 16-4 in interleague games and are 32-8 over the last two seasons. The Sox are 13-0-3 in their last 16 home series against National League. The Cubs in 2014 were the last NL team to win a series at Fenway . . . At 103-47, the Sox are 56 games over .500 for the first time since the 1912 team finished 105-47 . . . The Sox are 12 for 12 in stolen bases the last six games . . . It was rookie dress-up day for the trip to New York. Sam Travis wearing a caveman outfit certainly fit the bill . . . Two Negro League veterans, Dennis Biddle and W. James Cobbin, threw out first pitches to Betts and Bradley.