Boston OF Moss has appendectomy

5/3/2008 10:43 PM

BOSTON (AP) -Boston Red Sox outfielder Brandon Moss had an appendectomy at Massachusetts General Hospital on Saturday night, one day after hitting a solo homer to spark a victory.

``Brandon Moss is in surgery right now having his appendix removed,'' Boston manager Terry Francona said after the Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 12-4 on Saturday night. ``He was feeling ill and the medical team felt that there was a possibility rather than just an abdominal flu that this was a possibility.''

Team spokesman John Blake said about 30 minutes later that Moss was out of surgery.

Moss' ignited a five-run fourth inning of Friday's 7-3 win by hitting a drive onto a small roof above a TV camera stand in center field to make it 2-0. The home run came on chilly night when the ball didn't seem to carry well, which had Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon marveling before Saturday's game.

``The ball by Moss,'' he said, ``it just kept carrying.''