{"id":846050,"date":"2026-08-06T21:51:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T21:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/846050\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T21:51:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T21:51:42","slug":"red-sox-make-willson-contreras-decision-before-white-sox-finale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/846050\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Sox Make Willson Contreras Decision Before White Sox Finale"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Boston Red Sox will attempt to complete another sweep without one of their most important hitters. Willson Contreras was not included in Boston\u2019s updated starting lineup for Thursday\u2019s series finale against the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park. Nick Sogard will start at first base and bat leadoff in Contreras\u2019 absence.<\/p>\n

The decision was not unexpected after Contreras left Wednesday\u2019s 4-0 victory due to an illness. Interim manager Chad Tracy revealed after the game that the veteran experienced dizziness and had a high temperature. Boston listed Contreras as day to day heading into the finale. The Red Sox have not placed him on the injured list, suggesting his absence could be brief.<\/p>\n

Red Sox Adjust Lineup Without Willson Contreras<\/p>\n

The Red Sox initially announced one version of their starting lineup before releasing an updated card shortly afterward.<\/p>\n

UPDATED:
Sogard 1B
Rafaela CF
Abreu RF
Durbin 3B
Yoshida DH
Monasterio SS
Duran LF
Seigler 2B
Wong C
Suarez P<\/p>\n

\u2014 Red Sox (@RedSox) August 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Sogard will play first base, followed by center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela and right fielder Wilyer Abreu at the top of the order. Caleb Durbin will bat cleanup and play third base.<\/p>\n

Masataka Yoshida will serve as the designated hitter, while Andruw Monasterio starts at shortstop. Jarren Duran, Anthony Seigler and Connor Wong round out the lineup.<\/p>\n

Left-hander Ranger Su\u00e1rez will start on the mound for Boston.<\/p>\n

Contreras\u2019 absence removes a productive right-handed bat from the middle of the order. It also comes one day after he contributed to one of the biggest defensive plays in Boston\u2019s seventh consecutive victory.<\/p>\n

After Durbin made a diving stop on a ground ball from Miguel Vargas, his throw to first arrived too late to record the out. Contreras quickly fired home and caught Sam Antonacci attempting to score, ending Chicago\u2019s best threat against Sonny Gray.<\/p>\n

Contreras later exited the game after only one at-bat.<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0Red Sox Accomplish Outrageous Feat Not Seen Since 1912 World Series Season<\/a><\/p>\n

Boston Has Another Sweep Within Reach<\/p>\n

The Red Sox enter Thursday looking to complete their second consecutive sweep after taking three games from the Los Angeles Dodgers last weekend.<\/p>\n

Boston has won 25 of its last 28 games and nine straight series, its longest run of consecutive series victories since 1912. The incredible surge has moved the Red Sox within one game of the New York Yankees for the first American League wild-card spot.<\/p>\n

They also sit 5.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.<\/p>\n

Losing Contreras for any extended period would be concerning, but Boston has not indicated that his illness is serious. Giving him Thursday off also allows the veteran additional recovery time before the Red Sox begin their next series.<\/p>\n

For now, Sogard gets the assignment at first base while Boston attempts to keep the hottest stretch in baseball rolling.<\/p>\n

More Red Sox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Boston Red Sox will attempt to complete another sweep without one of their most important hitters. Willson…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":846051,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":["post-846050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}