Brad Penny's second-inning fastball went off the helmet of Jeff Francoeur, but Francoeur was not injured.

AP photo / Gregory Smith

ATLANTA –– The Red Sox took a chance when they signed Brad Penny during the offseason. He battled shoulder problems all last season with the Dodgers, and he’s remained healthy so far for Boston in 2009.

There was some concern, however, when the veteran right-hander grimaced after throwing a pitch to only his second batter of the game on Sunday. After Penny delivered a fastball to the Braves’ Kelly Johnson, he called batterymate Jason Varitek to the mound with manager Terry Francona and trainer Paul Lessard quickly in tow.

After Boston’s 2-1 loss to Atlanta in the series finale at Turner Field, Penny explained his thumb "popped out of the joint for a second. It was nothing. I just needed a second to let it come back."

He said this has happened about four or five times during his career. He was allowed to throw a couple of warmup pitches to make sure everything was fine.

Francona said after the game that Penny’s thumb also went numb.

"We wanted to give him a little time to get the feeling back. He threw two pitches and he was fine. It’s happened before to him and he wasn’t worried about it," said Francona.

Overall, Francona was pleased with Penny’s outing despite the loss. Penny finished six innings and allowed only two runs -- both homers -- on five hits. He walked no one and struck out two.

"He had to pitch from the stretch a little bit, but he never gave in," said Francona. "He only gave up two runs. He pitched his [butt] off. We couldn’t mount anything [offensively]."

Penny hung a breaking ball to the Braves’ Chipper Jones in the bottom of the first inning, then left a fastball over the middle to Garret Anderson that also resulted in a home run in the fourth inning. Those were the only two runs Atlanta needed.

"I felt good, but I didn’t have a lot of confidence in my curveball today," Penny said. "I didn’t have good command of it. Overall my fastball strength was there. I made a couple of bad pitches."

Penny has been consistent over his last few starts. His record is 6-3, and he appears to be getting stronger as the season progresses.

"He’s throwing the ball great. He’s a power pitcher and he’s been locating. His off-speed stuff keeps getting better and better. We’re glad to have him," said Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia.

Off the field, Penny has heard all the rumors about the Sox being willing to trade him, or clubs asking about acquiring his services. Francona said on Saturday that the Red Sox wouldn’t have signed Penny to trade him.

"We really like what we see," he said.

"I don’t worry about that stuff. I just go out there and pitch," Penny said.

jmcdonal@projo.com