ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Third baseman Mike Lowell, who’s been battling a right hip ailment for several months, came out of Tuesday's game in the top of the ninth inning after singling to left.

Lowell was hobbling at the plate, and could barely jog down to first before leaving for pinch-runner Jonathan Van Every. Earlier in the game, he tried to come in on a bouncing ball and aggravated the hip.

“Yeah, we’re pretty concerned,” manager Terry Francona said. “As the game progressed, you could see it was getting worse.”

‘It’s sore,” said Lowell after the game. “That chopper didn’t really do any (favors) for me. I don’t know. It’s just frustrating. I think I’d be feeling a little better if we won, 2-1. On that off-balance throw, it really grabs me and then it goes away. It burns a little and that doesn’t feel really good. I want to talk to Tito and see how I’m feeling when I wake up tomorrow and see if he feels like I’m hurting the team. I don’t want to be hurting the team. I’m able to get to balls, you know. I’m just not really pretty doing it.”

Lowell told WEEI.com earlier this week that he’s been diagnosed with a torn labrum in the hip, which will probably require offseason surgery.

Lowell told the site: “I just go out and deal with it and in the offseason, this is going to be addressed.”

-SEAN McADAM