For Boston Red Sox center fielder Kiké Hernández, Wednesday’s rehab start with the Portland Sea Dogs couldn’t have gone much better. Hitting second in the Sea Dogs lineup, Hernández went 1 for 2, his fourth–inning single to left breaking up a perfect game being thrown by Matt Frisbee of the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

Hernández’s single was one of just three for the Sea Dogs, who struck out 17 times, stranded the bases loaded with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth, but won 1-0 in front of 5,175 fans at Hadlock Field. Tyler Dearden’s 10th-inning single to deep center scored Elih Marrero, who began the inning as the automatic runner at second base.

Hernández made a pair of catches in center field. When his night was complete after five quick innings, Hernández reported no pain in the hip that has kept him out of the Red Sox lineup since early June.

“It was all right. Games here are a little quicker than in the big leagues. I didn’t expect to be done after an hour and 20 minutes of playing, but it felt good. I’m feeling good, health-wise, and that’s what matters right now,” Hernández said.

Red Sox relief pitcher Tyler Danish, who has been on the IL since July 7 because of a right forearm strain, also made a rehab appearance for the Sea Dogs. He pitched the sixth inning in relief of Thad Ward and issued a walk but got out of the inning with a double play ball hit to shortstop Ceddanne Rafaela. Danish said his slider was good, with three of the four he threw going for strikes. The 6-foot, 200-pound righty said he sinker needs work.

“The sinker was running off the plate too much, but that’s something with my delivery, I know what it is. First time back in a month, I kind of expected to have a little rust. That’s part of it. That’s what these (rehab outings) are for,” Danish said.

Hernández hasn’t played for Boston since going on the injured list June 8 because of a hip flexor injury. A previous rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester was shut down in early July when Hernández felt tightness in his hip. In 51 games with the Red Sox, Hernández had four home runs and 24 runs batted in while scoring 27 runs. At the time of his injury, Hernández was hitting .209 with a .273 on-base percentage. He said he tried to play through the injury for a while.

“Before I went on the IL, it (hurt) mainly to run and to throw. My mechanics hitting weren’t great. It didn’t hurt, I just couldn’t get into good position to hit because of the injury,” said Hernández. “The annoying thing with these injuries is there’s not much to do but wait for it to heal.”

In 26 appearances with Boston this season, Danish is 2-1 with a 4.31 ERA. In 31 1/3 innings, he has 25 strikeouts and eight walks.

Both Hernández and Danish expect to be with the Sea Dogs through the weekend. After taking Thursday off, Hernández said he’ll play Friday, Saturday and Sunday before rejoining the Red Sox in Pittsburgh. Danish expects to throw an inning Friday and two innings Sunday.

“I’ve got a couple more to go, and now the focus is getting back to delivery and focusing on that more. I’m healthy, I’m getting back, so it’s fine tuning the little stuff,” Danish said.

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