Anthony

Seigler

It appears to be nothing more than a routine day off for the 34-year-old slugger. Nick Sogard will man first base in his absence while Anthony Seigler starts at second base and will bat eighth against Pirates’ right-hander Luke Bachar.

Like most hitters in the Red Sox’ lineup, Durbin has been sizzling of late, slashing .367/.448/.510 with a homer, 10 RBI and three stolen bases in 60 plate appearances over his last 13 contests. Anthony Seigler will start in his place at third base and will bat sixth for the Red Sox on Sunday afternoon in Boston.

Contreras was pulled early from Wednesday’s game and then sat out Thursday’s epic marathon against the White Sox while feeling under the weather. He’ll get another day to rest on Friday. If he doesn’t improve as the weekend progresses though, the Red Sox may have to consider a backdated stint on the injured list. Nick Sogard will again will in for him at first base while Anthony Seigler starts at second base and will bat eighth against A’s right-hander Jack Perkins.

It’s the worst-case scenario outcome for Mead after he was drilled by a pitch during the second at-bat of his Red Sox debut against the Athletics on Monday night. The 25-year-old infielder was acquired from the Nationals for lefty Connelly Early last week and is already facing an extended absence. There’s a strong possibility his season is over given the severity of the injury. Cassell adds that Nick Sogard is coming up from Triple-A Worcester to take Mead’s roster spot. It’ll be Caleb Durbin handling third base with Anthony Seigler moving back into a starting role at the keystone.

You can’t make this stuff up. Mead was replaced by Anthony Seigler at second base a couple frames after being drilled by a pitch on the left hand during his second at-bat in a Red Sox uniform after striking out in his first plate appearance. He’ll undergo X-rays to determine whether he suffered any fractures. There should be an update on his status shortly.

Seigler started the bottom of the first with a leadoff homer off Trey Yesavage and just kept going from there. He had been hitting just .172/.246/.276 in 15 games since the Red Sox moved him to the leadoff spot at the end of June, though with the way the team has played, there wasn’t much reason to move him back down. He’s at .273/.336/.455 with three homers in 111 plate appearances overall.

Seigler has settled in as the Red Sox’ everyday second baseman and leadoff hitter over the past couple of weeks, but he’ll get a breather in this one. Romy Gonzalez will start in his place and bat sixth against Rays’ left-hander Shane McClanahan on Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park.

Seigler didn’t wind up missing any time after a home-plate collision during Wednesday’s game against the White Sox resulted in a right arm contusion. The versatile 27-year-old took lefty reliever A.J. Minter deep for his second big fly of the year. He’ll continue leading off for the suddenly sizzling-hot Red Sox until further notice.

Seigler was replaced by Andruw Monasterio at second base following a home-plate collision with Chicago catcher Kyle Teel while scoring on a wild pitch in the third inning. He came away with a laceration on his right arm and looked to be pretty shaken up after a head-first slide. He’ll undergo evaluation to determine whether he suffered any additional injuries on the play. There should be an update on his status after the contest.

Seigler receives his third opportunity atop Boston’s lineup in his 11th consecutive start at the keystone since being brought up from Triple-A Worcester back on June 20. The versatile 27-year-old blasted his first career homer over the weekend and is hitting a blistering .361 (13-for-36) with one homer, three RBI and one steal through 12 games in the big leagues this season. There’s nothing in his minor-league track record to suggest he’ll blossom into a highly impactful fantasy contributor, but he’s making some noise and could be useful as a temporary stopgap in deeper leagues.