The Red Sox had a bit of a scare Sunday night, and it had nothing to do with the result of the game.
Boston fell 4-3 in 11 innings to the Cleveland Indians, but in the seventh inning the Red Sox lost Xander Bogaerts.
During the shortstop’s at-bat, he swing at a pitch and immediately dropped his bat. Bogaerts appeared fine, as he never went to the ground and immediately went and picked his bat back up. However, after a moment, Sox manager Alex Cora and team medical staff came out and chatted with Bogaerts, ultimately electing to pull him from the game.
It later was revealed that the 25-year-old was removed as a precaution due to left shoulder soreness, and he would be day-to-day.
After the game, Cora provided an encouraging update on Bogaerts.
Cora on Bogaerts: ‘He’s OK…I’m not going to take any chances. He came in and everything tested fine.’ No further tests planned.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) September 24, 2018
Xander Bogaerts receiving treatment on his left shoulder. Alex Cora said he felt something when he swung in the 7th. No further testing planned. #RedSox
— Bill Koch (@BillKoch25) September 24, 2018
Bogaerts himself also didn’t sound overly concerned.
Bogaerts said he feels good and wants to play tomorrow.
— Chris Mason (@ByChrisMason) September 24, 2018
Bogaerts obviously is a key part of the Red Sox’s success, so him being at full health is critical. It doesn’t appear there is much to be worried about, which bodes well for Boston as it enters the final week of the regular season.
Here are some other notes from Sunday’s Red Sox-Indians game:
— Mookie Betts got the first two games of the three-game series against the Indians off, but he made his return to the lineup Sunday, and he did it in a pretty big way.
The Sox star went 4-for-6 with a solo home run, two doubles, a single, one RBI and two runs scored.
Betts’ extra-base hit-laden game allowed him to create some separation for himself in the record books, as well.
Most games with 3+ extra-base hits before turning 26 years old (since 1900):
1. Mookie Betts – 17
T2. Lou Gehrig – 14
T2. Jimmie Foxx – 14
T4. Mel Ott – 13
T4. Alex Rodriguez – 13Source: @EliasSports
— J.P. Long (@SoxNotes) September 24, 2018
— William Cuevas got quite a bit of action, pitching 5 1/3 innings in the loss.
The winning run was charged to Cuevas, marring what otherwise was a pretty good outing for the right-hander. He allowed two hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Although he landed in a couple jams throughout his outing, he did a fine job wiggling himself out of trouble.
— Ian Kinsler’s struggles at the dish continued, as he went 0-for-5 with a strikeout.
Offensive woes have been plaguing Kinsler for some time now, and it’s now entering territory the 36-year-old has yet to see over his 13-year career.
Kinsler is 0-for-5 tonight. He's in anger of extending his streak of games without an extra-base hit to 14, which would match the longest such drought of his career. He's hitting .170/.196/.170 during the stretch.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) September 24, 2018
— With the Houston Astros winning Sunday afternoon, the Red Sox have yet to secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs. All Boston needs is one more victory to secure it, and said victory would be No. 106, which would mark the most in franchise history.
The Red Sox will begin a three-game set against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday at Fenway Park.
