BOSTON — With two weeks left in the regular season, the Red Sox welcomed a major addition back to their lineup on Sunday afternoon.
Willson Contreras was activated from the injured list and got the start at first base, batting fourth in Boston’s 4-1 win over Kansas City. The right-handed hitter, who leads Boston with 26 home runs, went 2-for-3 with one run scored in his first game back with the team.
“Felt good overall,” Contreras said. “Good game. We won, most important thing. A little bit of [a rain] delay. Part of baseball, but we’re here.”
Contreras was placed on the IL with a left hamstring strain on Aug. 31, after the ailment slowed his production for much of the month. The infielder played in two rehab games with Double-A Portland, going 2-for-7 with a run scored and two RBIs.
Though they’ve maintained their position in the AL Wild Card race, the Red Sox offense has suffered without their “heart and soul,” as ace Sonny Gray has called the power-hitting righty. Aside from home runs, Contreras leads the team in RBIs (79), OBP (.384), SLG (.517) and OPS (.904).
The power-hitting righty wasted no time testing his hamstring, reaching second on a throwing error by Royals third baseman Nick Loftin in the fourth inning. In the eighth, Contreras helped spark a two-run rally with a one-out single to right field. Contreras went first to third after an Adley Rutschman double and then came around to score on Trevor Story’s RBI single.
“I mean, I had to. I don’t want to get booed again,” Contreras said. “So I made sure that my hamstring was 100 percent. I tested it [Saturday] in Portland. Went home to first and first to third [and] it felt good. And that’s why I decided to be activated today, because my hamstring felt great.”
In a corresponding move, Anthony Seigler was placed on the 10-day IL with right wrist inflammation. Seigler exited Saturday’s win over the Royals after experiencing pain in his right wrist following a swing during the fourth inning. Interim manager Chad Tracy said Seigler underwent a fluoroscan on Saturday, which came back negative, but the infielder will undergo further testing in Boston while the Red Sox head to Arlington for a three-game set against the Rangers starting Tuesday.
“We don’t have any extra answers on what it is yet,” Tracy said. “He’s still very sore today. So he’ll stay here [for] the coming days of the next week, get more workups and imaging to figure out exactly what it is.”