Alex Verdugo Considered Day-To-Day After Leaving Red Sox Win Early

The Red Sox will be without Alex Verdugo for the series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday at Tropicana Field.

Boston’s leadoff hitter left the Red Sox’s game Sunday against the Kansas City Royals with two outs in the sixth inning with tightness in his left hamstring.

“He’s okay. (He’s) day to day,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “We’ll stay away from him (Monday), and we’ll see how he feels. He was between the ball and when he stopped he felt that so hopefully there’s nothing major.”

Cora put Wilyer Abreu in the game defensively when Verdugo exited but replaced him with pinch hitter Rob Refsnyder in the top of the seventh.

Verdugo said he felt something when he was chasing down the Salvador Perez single to right, adding that he thinks it can be taken care of in a couple of days, according to The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham.

The 27-year-old reached on an error but was 0-for-3 from the plate with two flyouts in the Red Sox win after going 3-for-5 and a home run shy of the cycle in Boston’s 9-5 victory over Kansas City on Saturday.

Verdugo is slashing .278/.341/.449 on the season with 135 hits, 34 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs and 53 RBIs.

The Red Sox currently sit 5 1/2 games back in the American League wild-card race heading into the three-game series with the Rays before heading home to host the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles for a three-game set.