Alex Bregman departs Red Sox win over Orioles with right quad tightness
Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman had to leave Friday afternoon's game against the Baltimore Orioles in the fifth inning with a leg injury. The team called the injury "right quad tightness" shortly after Bregman's departure.
The injury doesn't sound too bad, but it leaves the Red Sox without the team's most consistent bat on a day they have to play two games against the Orioles. Life is certainly not getting any easier for Boston, though the Red Sox crushed the Orioles, 19-5, Friday afternoon.
Boston manager Alex Cora didn't have much of an update on Bregman following the afternoon win, but said he was "tight" and would be out of the lineup Friday night. Cora wasn't sure if Bregman would land on the Injured List, and said the team should know more Saturday.
Alex Bregman's injury
With two outs and no runners on in the bottom of the fifth, Bregman laced a line drive single off the Green Monster in left field. He rounded first before putting on the brakes when he realized stretching the hit into a double wasn't the best call, but appeared to tweak something in his leg in the process.
Bregman knew something was wrong as he went back to first base and immediately pointed to his leg and signaled for a pinch-runner.
Bregman walked off the field and into the Boston locker room, and was replaced by pinch-runner Abraham Toro. Nick Sogard moved from first to third to take over for Bregman in the top of the sixth, while Toro took over for Sogard at first base.
Alex Bregman with the Red Sox
Bregman has been Boston's most consistent player in his first season with the Red Sox, leading the team with 11 home runs (Rafael Devers tied it with his 11th home in the sixth inning Friday) and 17 doubles while sitting second at 35 RBI, trailing only Devers and his now-47 RBI. Bregman was slashing .299/.385/.553 for the Red Sox after his fifth-inning single on Friday.
Losing him takes one of Boston's best bats out of the lineup, and one of the team's most solid gloves in the field. We'll now wait to see how severe the injury is and how long it might cost Bregman, who signed a three-year, $120 million contract with the Red Sox late in the offseason.
The Red Sox also play the Orioles at 7:10 p.m. on Friday night, so it'll be interesting to see who Alex Cora pencils in at third base for that tilt. Devers has been Boston's DH since Bregman signed on, and hasn't played third since last season.
The Bregman injury doesn't sound too serious -- quad tightness is much better than the hamstring injury many believed Bregman had suffered -- so it likely won't open the door for prospect Marcelo Mayer to make his way to the Majors. Mayer is in the Worcester Red Sox lineup for their 4:05 p.m. game against Durham in Worcester and will remain with the WooSox, according to Ian Browne of RedSox.com.
