Although the Red Sox could use additional offense for Thursday afternoon’s game against the visiting Athletics, it doesn’t look as if right fielder Wilyer Abreu will be available.
Abreu, who has 22 home runs and 69 RBIs this season, has been on the injured list since Aug. 21 due to right calf tightness. He faced live pitching Monday and took part in other baseball activities Wednesday, but Boston manager Alex Cora said he doesn’t expect Abreu will be activated from the 10-day IL in time to play in Thursday’s game.
After dropping the series opener against the A’s, the Red Sox narrowly escaped with a win Wednesday, scraping by with a 5-4 win in 10 innings.
The Red Sox will take every win they can get as their playoff hunt continues. They’re tied with the Mariners in the race for the final wild-card spot in the American League and have a 2 1/2 game lead over the Guardians. New York occupies the top AL wild-card spot and is ahead of Boston and Seattle by two games.
On Thursday, the Mariners face the Royals in Kansas City at 2:10 p.m. and the Yankees play the Orioles in Baltimore at 7:10 p.m. The Guardians meet the Tigers in Detroit at 1:10 p.m.
Thursday’s decisive contest against the Athletics begins at 1:35 p.m. at Fenway Park, and Brayan Bello will be on the mound for Boston. J.T. Ginn will start for the A’s.
Here’s your preview.
ATHLETICS (71-81): Butler CF, Rooker DH, Kurtz 1B, Soderstrom LF, Wilson SS, Bleday RF, Hernaiz 3B, Gelof 2B, MacIver C
Pitching: RHP J.T. Ginn (3-6, 4.69 ERA)
RED SOX (83-69): Duran LF, Story SS, Bregman 3B, Yoshida DH, Lowe 1B, Wong C, Hamilton 2B, Eaton RF, Rafaela CF
Pitching: RHP Brayan Bello (11-7, 3.25 ERA)
Time: 1:35 p.m.
TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7
Athletics vs. Bello: JJ Bleday 2-7, Lawrence Butler 2-5, Zack Gelof 2-6, Brett Harris 0-2, Shea Langeliers 4-7, Brent Rooker 3-5, Max Schuemann 0-1, Tyler Soderstrom 0-5
Red Sox vs. Ginn: Nathaniel Lowe 1-2
Stat of the day: The Red Sox were 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 runners Wednesday after going 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position in Tuesday’s loss. Boston is 7-for-38 with runners in scoring position during the first five contests of their six-game homestand.
Notes: The Athletics will send righthander J.T. Ginn (3-6, 4.69 ERA) to the mound on Thursday. Ginn was pulled from Friday’s 3-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds with one out in the fifth inning because of a cramp in his right calf. He struck out six, scattered two hits and didn’t allow a run before he left that game. … Bello is is 1-1 with a 9.42 ERA in three career starts against the Athletics. … Wednesday’s loss ended the Athletics’ five-game winning streak.
Emma Healy can be reached at [email protected] or on X @ByEmmaHealy.