BOSTON (AP) – Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona was encouraged by the reports on Nomar Garciaparra’s first rehab outing in Triple-A.

“I talked to him and it surprised him how well he felt,” Francona said Monday. “He played the whole game without thinking before he took a step, and that’s a really good sign. I know he was really excited.”

Garciaparra was 0-for-3 with a strikeout in his debut Sunday playing for the Pawtucket Red Sox in the International League. It was his first game since fouling a ball off his right heel in spring training on March 17.

Francona said the Red Sox hadn’t decided whether Garciaparra will make Pawtucket’s next trip, to Toledo.

“This is the next step. Getting in a few innings here feels pretty good right now,” Garciaparra said Sunday. “The big test is to see how it feels tomorrow.”

AP-ES-05-31-04 1841EDT