Victor Martinez Fractures Distal Phalanx In Left Thumb

More is already known about Victor Martinez and his broken left thumb: the catcher suffered a "fractured distal phalanx" (which means he broke the bone in the very tip of his thumb, duh) in Sunday's game against the Giants.

The fracture is a result of Martinez getting hit with a pair of foul balls, one in the second inning and then another in the third, off the bat of Andres Torres. It was the latter that did the most damage, bending the thumb back in Martinez's glove. Like Dustin Pedroia, Martinez will be further examined on Monday.

"Dr. [Thomas] Gil has already seen the x-rays. It's not a given that he goes on the DL," Terry Francona said. "What bothered him today ... it was swollen, he was having trouble getting it in his glove. It's not a given that he'll go on the DL. It's not a given that he's going to be OK, either. We'll get him examined tomorrow and see where we go from there."

It's obviously very early, but Martinez does not think he will need to go on the DL. He added, "By the time I got to the dugout, it was starting to get [swollen]. I couldn't put my hand in the glove. It was kind of painful."

Boston has Monday off before opening a two-game series at Fenway Park with Tampa Bay. The Rays are third in the AL East, just one game back of the second-place Red Sox.