"As Terry Francona sat down for his pregame media briefing yesterday at Yankee Stadium, second baseman Dustin Pedroia was about to enter a 4:30 p.m. appointment to have his balky right knee examined by doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The Red Sox manager already felt confident in the results.

"I fully expect him to be hitting second (tonight)," Francona said. "I don't think he's going to miss any time. I think he's going to play (tonight). I'll be surprised if it's something different."

Turns out, it wasn't merely wishful thinking. Pedroia was diagnosed with a bone bruise to the right kneecap and isn't expected to require surgery. He will rejoin the team today in Toronto.

Pedroia returned to Boston by train yesterday to have team medical director Dr. Tom Gill peek inside his knee in an attempt to determine the cause and severity of the pain he has felt since last season and whether the injury could worsen if he keeps playing through it. Francona termed the procedure by which Pedroia was examined as "minimally invasive" and stressed the precautionary nature of the testing."