"On a day that began with news that shortstop Jed Lowrie was being placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Red Sox with a shoulder injury, it appeared he might be joined by left fielder Carl Crawford.

Crawford was forced to leave last night's series opener against the Brewers in the bottom of the first inning because of a strained left hamstring, suffered while legging out an infield single to third.

"He got an MRI during the game,'' said manager Terry Francona. "He's got a Grade-1 hamstring, and we certainly need to reevaluate that and see what we'll do.''

Francona indicated it was the least severe of hamstring strains.

After Crawford was called safe by umpire Phil Cuzzi, he immediately pulled up, prompting Francona and trainer Mike Reinold to emerge from the dugout. After a brief consultation, Crawford departed.

"I know [I felt] it somewhere when I was approaching the bag,'' said Crawford. "I'm not sure when it actually happened.''

Francona didn't hesitate to pull his left fielder.

"He needed to come out,'' the manager said.

"I think they're just going to see how I feel tomorrow and go from there,'' Crawford said."