Red Sox's Chris Sale: X-rays come back clean

X-rays on Sale's hip came back negative and manager Alex Cora said he expects the southpaw to be ready to pitch Opening Day against the Rays on Thursday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

This is certainly welcomed news for both parties after Sale was struck by a liner and exited Saturday's spring game with what was later diagnosed as a hip contusion. The ace was never worried about the injury, however, and further tests confirmed he wasn't dealing with anything overly serious. Look for the southpaw to stay on schedule for his Opening Day start Thursday against the Rays.