Price 'feeling a lot better' after cortisone shot?

BOSTON -- David Price is on the road to recovery.

Four days after receiving a cortisone shot in his left wrist to combat a triangular fibrocartilage complex cyst, the left-hander is feeling on the mend.

“[It was the] first time I had an injection like that, so it made it sore the first 48 hours,” Price said Saturday before the Red Sox game against the Angels. “But yesterday it started feeling a lot better, and same as today.”

The Red Sox placed Price on the 10-day injured list on Thursday, retroactive to Monday. He had been experiencing tightness over his last three-to-four starts, and it was affecting his hand strength and range of motion.

Price is 0-3 with two no-decisions in his last five starts. He gave up seven runs on nine hits (two home runs) over 2 2/3 innings in his most recent outing on Sunday against the Yankees.

“It’s something I could see, something I could feel,” Price said. “Not being able to get those pitches out front like I normally do, it made it tough. It felt like the ball was kind of coming out of my hand a split second too early, and I was trying everything I could to kind of cope with that and get it out front.”

Price said the cyst, located on the outside of his wrist, is not related to the carpel carpal tunnel syndrome he dealt with last season. He hopes the injection will alleviate the problem.

“The shot can take care of things,” he said. “We injected straight into the cyst, so hopefully that blows it up and it doesn’t come back. But if not, it’s something that we’d have cut out and that wouldn’t be a very long recovery process.”

Price began doing exercises on Friday, and he is working to regain his range of motion. Red Sox manager Alex Cora knows as soon as Price is cleared to pitch, the 12-year veteran will be eager to get back on the mound.

“With David, he might take a while now, but when he’s fine, it’s a sprint. And he’s showed before, it doesn’t take that much for him to get back,” Cora said. “We better be ready, because as soon as he feels better, I know he’s going to push to start throwing and performing. We’ve got to make sure we make the right decision and we schedule it the right way.”

Brian Johnson started in place of Price on Friday against the Angels. The Red Sox have an off day on Aug. 15, when they can assess the pitching situation and Price’s upcoming availability.

“To have something like that going in your hand and your wrist, and to be able to diagnose it and to be able to take positive steps forward to fix it, it puts my mind at ease a little bit knowing what’s going on and knowing how we can fix it, and taking steps in that direction to fix it,” Price said.

Pearce suffered partially torn PCL

Steve Pearce returned to the Red Sox’s clubhouse on Saturday, sporting a large brace on his left knee. Pearce said he suffered a partially torn PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) during a Minor League rehab assignment for a lower back strain. He does not expect to require surgery on his knee.

Pearce is not able to run at this point in his recovery, but he did take batting practice on Saturday. The Red Sox have not ruled out his return for this season, and would welcome the 2018 World Series Most Valuable Player’s bat back in the lineup.

“I said, ‘If you hit the ball out of the ballpark, you don’t have to sprint,’” Cora said.

Pearce planned to be with the team on Saturday and then return to Florida to continue his rehab at the Red Sox’s Spring Training facility.

“It’s very tough,” Pearce said. “My boys are out here grinding every day, and you want to be with them. That’s what’s motivating me to get back.”