BOSTON – When Red Sox All-Star first baseman Willson Contreras was replaced in the top of the fifth inning on Wednesday night at Fenway Park against the White Sox, eyebrows were raised.
It takes a lot to get Contreras off the field.
However, the Red Sox revealed the slugger was ill, not injured, and that’s why he came out.
"He's a little under the weather, just feeling a little sick," interim manager Chad Tracy said after the Red Sox's 4-0 win, their seventh straight. "And then took some temperatures as the game was going on. The temperature started to go up. And he started getting a little dizzy. Felt like it was best to get him out of there.”
Nick Sogard moved from second to first base to replace Contreras in the field. Anthony Seigler entered the game at second base and slotted into the cleanup spot occupied by Contreras.
Boston was leading 2-0 when Contreras came out.
In the first inning, Contreras staked his team to a 1-0 lead with an RBI single.
And in the top of the third, Contreras made an impact on defense. As third baseman Caleb Durbin made a diving stop down the third-base line and a one-hop throw across the diamond on an infield single by Miguel Vargas, Contreras smartly stepped off the bag and fired home to nail Sam Antonacci, who aggressively tried to score from second.
Contreras is having a career year. In 105 games, he has a batting line of .288/.395/.540 with 23 homers and 70 RBIs.