LOS ANGELES -- Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras left Friday’s game against the Dodgers in the third inning after he was hit in the side of the helmet by a pitch from right-hander Will Klein.
Contreras was drilled by a 95.4 mph fastball and took first base after a visit from the medical staff. The hit-by-pitch came after Contreras had to drop to the ground to avoid Klein's high-and-inside first pitch of the at-bat.
After the game, interim manager Chad Tracy said the catcher was in concussion protocol.
It was the 19th time Contreras was hit by a pitch this season.
After the half-inning, Nick Sogard moved from second base to first and Anthony Seigler took over at second, batting in Contreras’ spot in the order.
Ahead of Saturday's game against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, the news on Boston's All-Star slugger was encouraging. Contreras was in good spirits in the Red Sox clubhouse, laughing and joking with teammates while watching them play a video game.
Tracy confirmed pregame that Contreras woke up feeling good, though the club opted to keep him out of Saturday's lineup as a safeguard while he works through his daily routine.
"Yeah, he's doing better," Tracy said. "Woke up feeling good. He's still got to do a bunch of activity, and he'll run around today. He'll swing and do all of his work, and then obviously we'll see how he feels after that. Just keeping him out -- it's precautionary. He's got to go through all that, and he’ll just keep seeing throughout the day if anything pops up, but we keep at least taking steps in the right direction."
When asked if the team plans to hold off on placing Contreras on the injured list, Tracy noted they will evaluate him as the day progresses.
"As of right now, maybe, but I'll talk with the medical people over the course of the next handful of hours to make sure I keep checking in on how he's doing and then we can figure that out," Tracy said.