FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox left-hander David Price took a first step in his recovery from a sore elbow ahead of schedule, throwing into a net in a batting cage.

Manager John Farrell said Price made 25 easy tosses Saturday before a Red Sox split squad played the Tampa Bay Rays.

“The range of motion, the freeness to the movement is all positive,” Farrell said. “It was just throwing into the net, just to get his arm moving – a little bit ahead of what we laid out (Friday). But that’s based on how he feels and the positivity towards it.”

Price is still a ways away from pitching off a mound.

“All of the early phase of throwing is going to be short distance, controlled effort and energy. So, we’re not even mapping out distances right now,” Farrell said. “We’re more interested in seeing how his arm responds to even the light volume as of today.”

Chris Sale breezed through four innings in his second spring start as the Red Sox defeated Tampa Bay 2-1.

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Sale allowed one hit and one walk while striking out five. He threw 42 of his 56 pitches for strikes.

Mitch Moreland and Pablo Sandoval hit back-to-back RBI singles to stake Boston to a 2-0 lead in the third.

 Boston’s other squad did not fare as well, falling 13-0 to the Twins at Minnesota’s training complex across town.

Red Sox starter Henry Owens allowed six runs on five hits and four walks in 21/3, while counterpart Kyle Gibson pitched five innings of four-hit ball.

BLUE JAYS: Reliever T.J. House was released from a hospital, one day after he was hit on the head by a line drive during a spring training game.

House arrived at Toronto’s spring training ballpark in Dunedin, Florida, on Saturday during the team’s 8-2 exhibition loss to the Phillies.

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“Obviously, it was definitely a rough day yesterday,” House said. “Whirlwind experience. And I’m doing a lot better than I thought I would be doing today.”

House was taken off the field in an ambulance Friday. He was struck in the ninth inning of a game against the Tigers and taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center. Test results were normal and he was held overnight for observation, according to the Blue Jays.

“No fractures of the skull or anything, which is great, especially for the force it took,” House said.

Tigers Manager Brad Ausmus said “there was blood on his face, blood in the glove – everything.” He described it as among the most frightening things he has seen in a baseball game.

House was hit on the back of the head by a ball off the bat of John Hicks. The ball ricocheted about 30 feet into the air and was caught by catcher Mike Ohlman.

House fell to his stomach and was face down on the mound for nearly 20 minutes while being tended to by trainers.

RANGERS: After missing the first 13 games of spring training while recovering from sports hernia surgery in November, Elvis Andrus returned to shortstop for Texas, playing four innings without a fielding chance and going 0 for 3 as a Rangers split squad beat the White Sox 5-1.

PIRATES: Infielder Jung Ho Kang was placed on the restricted list by the team while he is delayed in South Korea by visa issues related to a recent DUI arrest. While on the restricted list, Kang does not count against the 40-man roster or the 25-man active roster.

Kang received an eight-month suspended prison sentence last week after a DUI arrest in December, his third in South Korea.


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