A 92.3 mph sinker to Willson Contreras’ wrist sent Boston’s best hitter to the ground in the eighth inning. The first baseman is having his best career figures with the Red Sox in 2026. Leading the team in home runs (27) and RBIs (81), his postseason availability is obviously crucial.
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“Sore. Painful. My hand was numb for like five minutes… I have fractured, before, the same hand. It felt like a fracture.” Willson Contreras’ statement after Thursday’s game wasn’t just a post-injury feeling, but the worst a Boston fan could think of.
Entering Wednesday, the Boston Red Sox had a simple equation to secure their place in October: winning five games from their remaining eleven in the regular season. Their 4-3 win against the Texas Rangers on Thursday should have eased the pressure further, but a brutal hit-by-pitch sending Boston’s hitting leader out of the field in the eighth indicates the worst at the wrong time.
“Status alert: Willson Contreras (hand) leaves game Thursday after HBP,” Underdog MLB shared via X.
The game started with the Rangers picking up three runs by the second inning. Red Sox scored their first in the seventh, and that’s what made way for an eventful eighth inning.
The inning started with Wilyer Abreu drawing a leadoff walk against Texas’ Jakob Junis to jump-start the frame. Contreras stepped up to the plate.
He was welcomed by a pitch to his right-hand wrist, forcing him to exit the game. Manager Chad Tracy removed him after trainers’ evaluation and brought in Isiah Kiner-Falefa as a pinch-runner. The sinker looked unintentional and never went much beyond the strike zone. Still, the pitch took a bit of a turn and hit Contreras’ wrist-finger area.
Contreras went to the ground and screamed in pain before getting back on his feet and making his way toward first base, where Abreu helped steady him.
Manager Chad Tracy and a member of the training staff came out of the dugout, and Contreras left the game shortly after. Broadcasters’ cameras showed Contreras shaking his head in frustration as he left the field.
“It’s really frustrating because I just came back from [the IL], and this might take days. I mean, sore bones in hands might take two days, might take a week, might take 10 days. I don’t know. We’ll see how I feel after taking this plane to Tampa,” Contreras added.
However, per the latest report, the X-ray came out negative, and he was kept on a day-to-day basis with a hand bruise, with his weekend status depending on how he feels.
“He’s got a bruise on his hand and some swelling,” Tracy said postgame. “So we’ll just take it day to day and see how he is. Got him on the top hand as he turned through on his right hand. So some swelling, and we’ll just take it day to day.”
A sigh of relief that Contreras will not hit the IL, but his recent IL history is what makes thing tensed.
He was activated from the 10-day injured list on September 13, 2026, after recovering from a left hamstring strain. He spent 13 days on the shelf. After missing 12 games, he did a brief two-game rehab assignment with Double-A Portland before getting reinstated to the active roster ahead of the series finale against the Kansas City Royals.
Exiting a game just within five days of rejoining the roster spells negativity for the Red Sox. Yet, the team added another three runs in the same inning, making it truly eventful.
Trevor Story stepped up to the plate, launching a line drive over the left-center field wall for a 3-run home run.
The Red Sox’s 4-3 win on Thursday may have pushed them one step closer to the postseason, but injuries are far from ending.
The Red Sox have more concerns apart from Contreras
While Willson Contreras leaving the field was the worst to happen for the Red Sox, the injury list doesn’t end there.
Aroldis Chapman is another high-profile name missing from action.
On Thursday, after the Red Sox took the lead in the eighth, Tracy didn’t put Chapman on to close the game, but turned things over to righty Garrett Whitlock. He used a pair of rookies (righty Wyatt Olds and lefty Alec Gamboa) to pitch the eighth.
That was a clear indication of Chapman’s unavailability.
“He’s just dealing with some lat tightness; we’re going to be conservative with him,” Tracy shared. “It’s getting better, but we’ve got to make sure it gets there. That’s why he wasn’t available tonight. We’re just going to keep monitoring it and see where he’s at each day.”
Chapman is having another stellar season in Boston.
So far, he has recorded 34 saves to go along with a 1.95 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 50 ⅔ innings over 52 games. His last game with the Red Sox was on September 13, when he got the final three outs against the Royals for his 34th save and the 401st of his career.
While Boston won that game 4-1, Chapman became day-to-day.
Now, missing their best hitter and closer is a two-way challenge for the Red Sox just when the postseason is around the corner. And it looks like the team would have to rely more on their depth.