Wilyer Abreu is in the Boston Red Sox lineup Sunday, but not in right field, where he has built a reputation as one of the American League’s best defenders.
The two-time Gold Glove winner will DH and bat third against the Athletics, a day after swelling in his lower leg scratched him from Boston’s lineup entirely, according to interim manager Chad Tracy.
| BOSTON RED SOX STARTING LINEUP | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP: Erik Miller (LHP, #67) • 2-0, 2.57 ERA, 49 K | ||||||||
| August 9, 2026 • Fenway Park, Boston, MA • 1:35 PM EDT • Athletics at Red Sox | ||||||||
| # | Player | Pos | B | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS |
| 1 | Nick Sogard | 3B | S | 0 | 3 | 0 | .271 | .757 |
| 2 | Ceddanne Rafaela | CF | R | 15 | 60 | 16 | .288 | .796 |
| 3 | Wilyer Abreu | DH | L | 20 | 62 | 7 | .256 | .793 |
| 4 | Willson Contreras | 1B | R | 23 | 70 | 3 | .287 | .929 |
| 5 | Andruw Monasterio | SS | R | 6 | 31 | 3 | .273 | .792 |
| 6 | Anthony Seigler | 2B | S | 3 | 12 | 2 | .246 | .710 |
| 7 | Jarren Duran | LF | L | 16 | 60 | 17 | .202 | .617 |
| 8 | Eli White | RF | R | 5 | 17 | 4 | .221 | .662 |
| 9 | Jake Rogers | C | R | 3 | 11 | 1 | .178 | .616 |
| Lineups subject to change. | ||||||||
Tracy Explains Abreu’s Move Off Right Field
Abreu fouled a pitch off the unprotected area above his shin guard during Friday’s 13-1 win over the Athletics, staying in the game before exiting in the sixth inning as swelling set in. He was held out of Saturday’s lineup for the first time since June 21, according to Chris Henrique of BostonSportsJournal.com, who first reported the Saturday scratch.
Tracy detailed the injury and the decision to keep Abreu off his feet defensively for a second straight day.
“He’s sore. There’s some swelling in there. He hit it right above the shin guard, so like right in that calf and shin area, pretty swollen,” Tracy said, as quoted by the Boston Herald. “And being that we’re actively looking over this next handful of days to get him a day off, I just felt like, we’re not running him out there like that. So get him off his feet today.”
Tracy said Abreu would get extensive treatment to “rub it out and flush it out,” and by Saturday night called him “doing better” and said he was “hopeful for tomorrow.”
| ATHLETICS STARTING LINEUP | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP: J.T. Ginn (RHP, #35) • 8-6, 3.51 ERA, 105 K | ||||||||
| August 9, 2026 • Fenway Park, Boston, MA • 1:35 PM EDT • Athletics at Red Sox | ||||||||
| # | Player | Pos | B | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS |
| 1 | Henry Bolte | CF | R | 5 | 22 | 13 | .253 | .682 |
| 2 | Jacob Wilson | SS | R | 7 | 36 | 4 | .270 | .696 |
| 3 | Jonah Heim | C | S | 11 | 38 | 0 | .226 | .698 |
| 4 | Tyler Soderstrom | DH | L | 19 | 54 | 1 | .245 | .812 |
| 5 | Tommy White | 1B | R | 0 | 0 | 0 | .266 | .575 |
| 6 | Lawrence Butler | RF | L | 7 | 30 | 9 | .205 | .624 |
| 7 | Jonathan Ornelas | LF | R | 0 | 0 | 0 | .182 | .432 |
| 8 | Max Muncy | 3B | R | 5 | 20 | 3 | .219 | .662 |
| 9 | Jeff McNeil | 2B | L | 4 | 35 | 4 | .250 | .637 |
| Lineups subject to change. | ||||||||
Wilyer Abreu’s Gold Glove Defense Sidelined
Abreu, a native of Maracaibo, Venezuela, signed with the Houston Astros as an international free agent in 2017 before Boston acquired him in a 2022 trade for catcher Christian Vázquez. He debuted with the Red Sox the following year and has since become the first Red Sox player to win back-to-back Gold Gloves since Mookie Betts, taking home the award in both 2024 and 2025.
He ranked among the American League’s outfield leaders in outs above average, fielding run value and defensive runs saved last season, according to the official Gold Glove announcement from MLB.com. Offensively, he entered Sunday hitting around .256 with 20 home runs and 62 RBIs, production that has only picked up during Boston’s recent surge.
None of that defense will be on display Sunday, with Eli White sliding into right field in his place for the second straight day.
Boston fell 7-3 to the Athletics on Saturday, snapping a nine-game winning streak that had the club chasing its second double-digit win streak of the season, according to Kaley Brown of Boston.com. It marked just the sixth loss in Boston’s last 38 games, a stretch that has carried the Red Sox from well under .500 into the American League’s second wild-card spot at 64-52.
Consecutive losses have been rare, to say the least. The Red Sox’ last defeat before the nine-game streak came July 28, also against the Athletics. The Red Sox have not lost two in a row since June 30 and July 1, when they dropped a pair to the Washington Nationals.
Sunday’s series finale sees left-hander Erik Miller, Boston’s trade deadline pickup from the Giants, serving as “opener” in place of a traditional starter. Miller excelled in that role for San Francisco in 2024, allowing one earned run across 10 2/3 innings as an opener. Facing an Athletics club that entered the day 46-71 and coming off its own nine-game losing streak, Boston looks well-positioned to avoid back-to-back losses, bullpen game or not.
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