Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers was pulled early during Friday’s 12-5 loss to the New York Yankees.
Devers left the game due to lower back pain after striking out in the bottom of the fourth inning, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com.
The 25-year-old has been dealing with back tightness this week. He didn’t play on Monday and Tuesday during Boston’s series with the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park.
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Boston starter Connor Seabold also left the game early with right forearm extensor tightness. He gave up seven earned runs on nine hits in 2.2 innings.
According to Cotillo, the Red Sox are likely “playing it safe” with Devers, who went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts on the night before exiting the game. Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters after the game that Devers will “be down” on Saturday and that he took Devers out of the game to “give him a breather.”
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Devers’ back didn’t seem to be an issue the game before. He provided the only offense for the Red Sox during Thursday’s 6-5 loss to New York, homering twice off of Gerrit Cole while driving in all five Boston runs. But the 2018 World Series champion does have a violent swing, and may have reaggravated his injury during one of his three at-bats on Friday.
The Red Sox had a total of 10 players on the injured list entering Friday, and certainly would like to avoid adding Devers.
