BOSTON -- Rangers right fielder Shin-Soo Choo left Tuesday night's 7-2 win over the Red Sox in the bottom of the fifth inning with stiffness in his lower back.
Choo homered off David Price on the first pitch of the game to give the Rangers an early lead. It was after the blast that went 421 feet, as projected by Statcast™, that Choo first felt the pain in his back.
"After the home run he mentioned it and in the next at-bat he mentioned it. Then the last at-bat, the look of it for me, I could tell it was bothering him and I made the decision to go ahead and pull the plug," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "Didn't want to take him any further. Started getting some treatments on him and re-evaluate him in the morning."
Outfielder Nomar Mazara replaced Choo in right field.