Willson

Contreras

Contreras got his first RBI on a little chopper with a projected landing distance of one foot; Ryan Weathers was able to go to his right to get it, but he couldn’t make the accurate throw to first under pressure. The other two came on a 113-mph homer projected at 419 feet. Contreras has five RBI the last two days and 38 for the season. He’s eighth in the majors with a .934 OPS.

Contreras’s homer off Andrew Kittredge wasn’t very important in an 8-1 game in the ninth, but it boosted his OPS to .919, which is 10th among qualified major leaguers. His current career high is .888 in 105 games with the Cubs in 2019.

Contreras is back at first base and hitting cleanup after sitting out Sunday’s series finale against the Guardians to rest a lingering wrist issue. It doesn’t appear to be a significant concern moving forward. He’s ready to roll for Tuesday’s contest at Fenway Park against Baltimore.

Contreras has been a fixture in the middle of the Red Sox’ lineup this season and has certainly earned a day off. The 34-year-old slugger is slashing .286/.384/.505 with 11 long balls and 33 RBI over 232 plate appearances on the season. Mickey Gasper will start in his place at first base and hit cleanup against Tanner Bibee and the Guardians on Sunday afternoon in Cleveland.

Contreras’ home run was his 11th of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Bailey Ober in the fourth inning. Contreras is hitting .281 with 25 runs and 33 RBI in 178 at-bats for the Red Sox this year. While the rest of the lineup continues to struggle, Contreras’ .898 OPS would be a career high if the season ended today.

The 1,000th hit of Contreras’ career came in the first inning when he tripled off of Connor Prielipp to drive in Wilyer Abreu, pushing the Red Sox’s lead to 2-0. Contreras has now hit in six-straight games while also driving in eight runs over that span. He remains one of the top bats in a Red Sox lineup that has struggled to produce runs this season.

Both of Contreras’ hits were singles, but he knocked in the first run of the game in the first and now has 30 RBI on the season. The Red Sox offense may not have been great so far this season, but Contreras has been a great addition.

Contreras started the scoring with his 435-foot blast in the sixth inning, and both teams scored single runs afterwards. It was Contreras’s 10th homer of the year, putting him halfway to his total of 20 from last season. His career high is 24, which he achieved in 105 games for the Cubs in 2019.

It’s important to see Contreras back on the board again, as he had been 2-for-21 since leaving a May 6 game with a left-hand issue that caused him to temporarily switch bats. And that was separate from the right-hand contusion he sustained on a HBP in May 10. He hit the homer tonight 106 mph and also had a 113-mph groundball single.

Contreras, who left Sunday’s game with a hand contusion, is hitting cleanup today. Mickey Gasper is staying in the lineup as the DH and No. 2 hitter, as the Red Sox have opted to give Ceddanne Rafaela the day off and play Masataka Yoshida in the outfield.