SAD MOMENT: Red Sox top Veteran bids farewell to club in tears.

Red Sox rookie shortstop leaves game with injury to left side

 Red Sox shortstop David Hamilton left Monday’s game after four innings due to “left side discomfort,” according to the team.

Hamilton played the first three innings in the field and batted twice, striking out both times. He struck out against Blue Jays reliever Trevor Richards in the top of the fourth inning and then didn’t come back out for defense in the bottom half. The Red Sox shifted Romy González from second base to shortstop and put Enmanuel Valdez in the game at second.

Manager Alex Cora said Hamilton felt some soreness before the game and aggravated it on a swing in his second at-bat. Boston won, 7-3, extending its winning streak to three games.

“Sore,” Cora said. “It’s actually the left one, the left side. We’ll see how he comes tomorrow. I think we were proactive, so hopefully not an IL stint. But we’ll know more tomorrow.”

Hamilton has been a spark plug for the Red Sox in recent weeks, having started 23 of Boston’s last 28 games at either shortstop or second base. He has hit .333 with a .908 OPS, 11 extra-base hits and 14 steals in his last 28 games dating back to May 17 and entered Monday ranking first among qualified American League rookies in batting average (.288). He stole four bases in Sunday night’s win over the Yankees, joining Jacoby Ellsbury and Jerry Remy as the only players in Red Sox history to accomplish that feat.

Before the game, Cora spoke of the impact Hamilton has had since he was reintroduced to the lineup a month ago.

“It’s confidence and he’s not hitting the ball in the air,” Cora said. “He’s not hitting fly balls. He’s hitting line drives … He’s using the whole field. He’s getting to the fastball, which is very important at this level. Confidence-wise, he’s way up there. It has been good.”