Donaldson has MRI, hopes to play Thursday

TORONTO — Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson underwent an MRI on his sore right hip Wednesday after missing his third consecutive game, an 8-1 loss to the Rays at Rogers Centre.

While the results of the MRI have not been released, Donaldson has also been undergoing treatment in recent days. Donaldson said the pain has mostly affected his agility from side to side. The reigning American League MVP winner will travel with the team on its seven-game West Coast road trip that begins Thursday in Anaheim against the Angels, and hopes to play in the opener.

“It was kind of one of those things where I didn’t feel like I could go out there and perform in a manner that could help my team out,” Donaldson said. “It was one of those things were I felt at first, if I was able to get some treatment on it like normal, I was going to be able to go out there and hopefully just miss a day. I just never got where I was comfortable with it.”

The injury comes at a critical time for the Blue Jays, who are 2 1/2 games back of Boston for the top spot in the American League East and a half-game behind the Orioles for the top AL Wild Card spot. The Red Sox host the Orioles on Wednesday night.

While it was initially though that Donaldson jammed the hip while stepping on first base Sunday against the Red Sox, the veteran said he has been battling smaller injuries for the better part of the year, with the hip pain occurring abruptly. …

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