The Boston Red Sox’ scuffling lineup was set to get a boost on Sunday, September 21 as slugger Wilyer Abreu was activated after over a month on the IL with a right calf strain. Abreu didn’t originally make the trip down to Florida for the start of the Sox series with the Tampa Bay Rays, but hopped on a plane to make it down to Steinbrenner Field for the series finale on Sunday.
Abreu batted in the eight-spot in the lineup for Sunday night’s game, where he was DH.
Before the onset of the Rays series where the Red Sox lineup seems to have gained some of their mojo back, Boston was in one of its worst slumps of the year for more than two weeks. They dropped three of four series against Arizona, New York and the Athletics as their situational hitting with runners in scoring position seriously faltered.
Abreu was 0-for-4, though, with four strikeouts, in his return.
“I feel strong. I feel good. So I’m ready to go.”
Abreu was the Red Sox best power hitter for the bulk of the season before his injury. He has 22 home runs and 69 RBI in 108 games, both career bests for the 26-year-old Venezuela native.
Even with his month long absence, Abreu still ranks second on the team in home runs, only trailing the resurgent Trevor Story who has 25. His .829 OPS is third on the team.
Where his return will impact the lineup most is in his ability to put up strong at-bats with runners in scoring position, the single biggest issue for the Red Sox in the month of September so far. Outside of Story, Abreu has the most home runs with runners in scoring position with eight, and second most RBI with 51. His stellar OPS of .973 with RISP is the best on the team, while his average is just under .300.
Abreu was placed on the 10-day IL on Aug. 18, but after multiple deadline setbacks, Boston is hoping that he is back at 100 percent because his bat will be an essential part of the lineup if the Red Sox want to make a deep postseason run.
Boston Still Battling To Lock Up Spot In Postseason
As the Red Sox have hit hard times in September, the Cleveland Guardians have come out of absolutely nowhere to go 16-4 in September and draw themselves all the way up to the third and final wild card spot in the standings. As of Sunday, Sept. 21 before either the Sox or Guardians have finished their games, Cleveland trails Boston by one game for the second seed in the Wild Card.
Cleveland has overtaken Houston as Boston picked up two big wins against Tampa Bay to fend off the Guardians for a little longer, but Houston, who led the AL West just two weeks ago, now finds itself on the outside looking in as they have lost two straight to Seattle.
If the Red Sox can win tonight, they’ll be at 86 wins with six games to go. At the moment, it looks like 88 wins will be enough to lock up the third Wild Card spot, so as long as they can grab 2-3 wins against Toronto and Detroit, they’ll be OK. Boston currently has an 86 percent chance to make the Postseason.
Red Sox Slugger Wilyer Abreu Makes Return From IL