Another one bites the dust. (Well, sort of.)
Christian Arroyo is the latest Boston Red Sox player to cope with injury. The second baseman exited Saturday’s 8-0 loss to the New York Yankees at Fenway Park after four innings with back spasms, according to manager Ron Roenicke.
So, what caused them?
“Coming off the dive (while fielding) in the first inning, and then he dove again later, a couple innings later,” Roenicke said during his postgame video press conference. “So, it spasmed up and hopefully, he’s day to day.”
Arroyo isn’t the only Sox player to struggle with back spasms lately. Boston placed Yairo Muñoz on the injured list Saturday for the same injury.
But now, the Sox have a problem. Who will play for them tomorrow with Muñoz on the IL and Alex Verdugo coping with an apparent hamstring issue?
“Yeah, I just actually drew out what we have out there for tomorrow and we’re OK,” he said. “We can get by. We’ll probably give Bogey a day off, too. He had a little bit of cramping the night before. So, we’ll probably give him tomorrow off, also.”
Here are some more notes from Saturday’s Yankees-Red Sox game:
— The Sox did not hit well off J.A. Happ.
Boston recorded just four hits off the lefty, though two of them were doubles. But as Roenicke noted, he’s been a thorn in the Red Sox’s side for quite some time.
“We’ve had trouble with Happ,” he said. “He just moves the ball around well, he pitches inside well, throws his change-up, throws his breaking ball and we just, in the three years I’ve been here, we have not hit very well (off him). So, that was most of it. But we just didn’t have very many good at-bats. I mean, we only had a couple balls hit hard off him, so that was most of it.
— Boston’s problems went beyond the plate, however.
The Sox made a number of key defensive missteps Saturday, many of which allowed runners to score or reach scoring position. Even Xander Bogaerts made silly mistakes.
This time, however, Roenicke had a hard him pinpointing the issue.
“Not sure,” he said. “We played so well yesterday, then today didn’t look like the same guys. You know, with Bogey, too, Bogey usually is so steady and I mean if balls are to him, I know we’re going to get an out. He’s just, he’s a steady player. So that’s very unusual to not make those plays today.”
— On a (somewhat) high note, Kevin Plawecki provided Sox fans with some much-needed comic relief.
The catcher was mic’d up for Saturday’s contest, and it was a blast. Check it out:
— The Sox wrap up their three-game set against the Yankees in a Sunday matinee. First pitch is slated for 1:07 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
