Boston Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu’s calf injury could cost him a few games but not a trip to the injured list.
The right fielder exited Sunday’s loss to the Miami Marlins after scoring in the seventh inning. He pulled up while tagging from third on a sacrifice fly, grimacing as he limped across the plate with Boston’s third run of the day.
Abreu later described the issue as minor, calling it more of a cramp than a strain. “A little bit tight. I felt a cramp,” Abreu said through a translator as transcribed by Matty Wasserman of The Boston Globe. “So right now I’m day to day. I’ll take probably two or three days and be ready for New York next weekend.”
He had already done damage before leaving. Abreu hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning and added a single in the seventh, continuing a strong stretch that has seen him hit .300 with an .860 OPS and 14 RBI across his last 16 games. On the year, his 22 home runs lead the Red Sox lineup while his 69 RBI trail only one teammate.
Boston manager Alex Cora used Jarren Duran in left, Ceddanne Rafaela in center and Roman Anthony in right after Abreu’s departure.
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That alignment is likely to remain when the Red Sox open a two-game set against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday. The team will have Wednesday off before heading to New York for a four-game series against the Yankees, a target date Abreu is eyeing for his return.
“He doesn’t expect to be placed on the injured list, but acknowledged he will likely miss the Orioles series,” Wasserman wrote.
Boston entered Monday five games back of first-place Toronto in the American League East, making Abreu’s availability for the Yankees series especially important.
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