ARLINGTON – Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras exited Thursday’s 4-3 win against the Rangers after being hit by a pitch on his right hand in the eighth inning. X-rays were negative, and Contreras is considered day to day.
“He's got a bruise on his hand and some swelling,” interim manager Chad Tracy said postgame. “So we'll just take it day to day and see how he is. Got him on the top hand as he turned through on his right hand. So some swelling, and we'll just take it day to day.”
Wilyer Abreu worked a six-pitch walk to lead off the frame before Contreras was struck on the hand by a 92.3 mph sinker from Jakob Junis.
Contreras went to the ground in pain before getting back to his feet and making his way toward first base, where Abreu helped steady him. Tracy and a member of the training staff emerged from the dugout, and Contreras left the game shortly after.
“[It’s feeling] sore, painful,” Contreras said. “My hand was numb for like, I'll say five minutes. That was the reason why I came out of the game. I had fractures before in the same hand. It felt like a fracture. Thankfully, it was not a fracture on the top of the bone. … I don’t know, I'm just frustrated.”
The injury scare came just four days after Contreras was activated from the 10-day IL. He had been sidelined since Aug. 31 with a left hamstring strain before returning to Boston’s lineup Sunday against the Royals.
“[Junis] apologized to me. I mean, that was nice of him,” Contreras said. “He was trying to pitch inside like everybody else. A lot of people might say that I hit on top of the plate, but I'm seeing a lot of players [that] hit on top of the plate. They don't get hit like me.
“It's really frustrating because I just came back from [the IL], and this might take days. I mean, sore bones in hands might take two days, might take a week, might take 10 days. I don't know. We'll see how I feel after taking this plane to Tampa.”
The 34-year-old said he was unsure whether he would be able to play Friday as the Red Sox open a three-game series against the Rays.
“If nobody [does] anything about it, I am going to keep getting hit,” Contreras said. “That’s the way I see it. That’s it.”
Contreras has set career highs in home runs (27), RBIs (81) and OPS+ (155 entering Thursday) in his first season with Boston. He hit a two-run homer in Wednesday's loss to the Rangers, the 199th home run of his career.