Xander Bogaerts had no desire to rest Wednesday night, so he took matters into his own hands and talked his way back into the Red Sox lineup.
Boston manager Alex Cora revealed the shortstop, along with Rafael Devers, likely would get the day off for the finale against the Detroit Tigers to give the duo two days of rest with the off day Thursday. But MLB.com’s Ian Browne reported that it sounded as if Bogaerts was trying to talk his way back into the lineup.
And that seems to be the case.
Cora made his weekly appearance on WEEI’s “Merloni, Fauria & Mego” on Wednesday and confirmed Bogaerts would take his normal shortstop position against the Tigers. The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier tweeted the skipper told the hosts Bogaerts indeed talked his way out of rest and into the lineup.
The Red Sox will go for the sweep of Detroit on Thursday, but Bogaerts won’t have his usual third baseman to his right. Jeter Downs, who was recalled from Triple-A Worcester earlier this week, will make his debut.
First pitch from Fenway Park is set for 7:10 p.m. ET. You can catch all the action on NESN beginning at 6 p.m.
