The Boston Red Sox got back in the win column on Saturday night, but it didn't come without some loss.
In the top of the third inning, designated hitter Masataka Yoshida drove a liner into the corner in right field but hobbled into an awkward dive as he fell into second base for a double. He was tended to by the medical staff and came immediately out of the game for what was originally labeled left hamstring tightness.
The injury, as expected, will land the 33-year-old on the IL, with switch-hitting utility option Mickey Gasper coming back up from Triple-A to take his spot, as first reported by Alex Speier of The Boston Globe.
Red Sox Lose Yoshida, Slaten to IL
Yoshida has been going well as of late and will be a big loss for the Red Sox lineup. He boasts a .324 batting average with four homers and an .893 OPS in his last 34 games, and has slotted in as Boston's leadoff man against right-handed pitching in recent games.
Replacing the lefty DH with another lefty DH, Gasper will get another shot with the big-league club this year in Yoshida's stead. Gasper was decent for the Red Sox through May and June, starting hot before eventually cooling off and getting sent back down to the minors. Since then, he has been on fire for the Worcester Red Sox in Triple-A, batting .337 with a 1.016 OPS on the season (54 games) as opposed to his .243 and .613 figures through 34 games in the big leagues.
Gasper, like Yoshida, will work his walks and give a quality at-bat against right-handed pitching, but is likely just a stopgap between the injury and the return of Roman Anthony, who is set to begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Portland on Tuesday. It's unclear how much time Yoshida will miss, but he said after the game that a similar injury put him out for about a month when he was in Japan.
But Yoshida wasn't the only regular fixture on the Sox roster to hit the injured list on Sunday morning, as right-handed reliever Justin Slaten also went down with elbow soreness. Joining the club in his place will be lefty Raymond Burgos, who was just called up a week ago to eat six innings across two games at Fenway Park and picked up a save for his no-hit effort on August 7.
The loss of Slaten is a brutal blow for a bullpen that has already been stretched thin with injuries. Earlier in the week, it was crucial setup man Garrett Whitlock that hit the IL with elbow soreness. Now the Sox will be a down another high-leverage option in Slaten, further taxing the steady but overworked arms of Erik Miller, Tyron Guerrero, and Greg Weissert ahead of closer Aroldis Chapman.
Slaten, 28, has had his 4.60 ERA damaged by a few shaky outings, but has generally been one of Boston's better options in late innings and delivered in some tough spots across his 36 appearances.
The hope for both Slaten and Whitlock is that a short IL-stint will be just enough to reset and gear up for an important stretch run where they will be called on in several big spots. With that said, an elbow injury will always come with higher stakes, and there is a chance that Slaten is less optimistic than Whitlock was a few days ago.
