BOSTON — While the Red Sox couldn’t come up with enough offense in a 3-2 loss to the Royals at Fenway Park on Friday night, Willson Contreras was raking at Double-A Portland, positioning himself to return to Boston’s lineup as soon as Sunday.
Contreras, serving as the DH, went 2-for-4, belting singles in his first two at-bats, driving in a pair of runs with the second.
The plan is that the right-handed-hitting masher, who leads the Sox in homers (26) and RBIs (79) this season, will start at first base for the Sea Dogs on Saturday.
“After that, we’ll see where he’s at and what we want to do there,” said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy.
The Sox have often struggled to generate offense while Contreras has been down.
“He’s an important piece to the offense. Kind of like the aircraft carrier there in the middle,” said Tracy. “When he’s right, obviously inserting that bat is important. So we hope everything goes well [Saturday], and we’re looking forward to getting him back for sure.”
Contreras wasn’t the only player of importance playing for Portland on Friday. Righty Tanner Houck made his second appearance for the Sea Dogs this week, stretching out to three innings and 48 pitches, 28 for strikes.
Making a comeback from Tommy John surgery, Houck allowed a hit, a run and a walk, while striking out four.
The plan is for Houck to make his next appearance for Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday.
Houck, who was an All-Star starter for Boston in ’24, would join the Red Sox as a reliever for the stretch run and into the postseason.
Considering that lefty Garrett Crochet might do the same if he continues to progress, Boston’s bullpen could get a couple of potent arms back for the most important time of year.