“It’s been a few weeks but I’m happy to be back,” Abreu said. “I feel very good at the plate. Hopefully it doesn’t take long to get back to the form I was before the injury.”
Abreu will join Jarren Duran, Tyler O’Neill, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Rob Refsnyder in what will be a crowded outfield. Utility player Romy Gonzalez is part of that mix, too.
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Masataka Yoshida is not a factor given that he has played only one inning defensively all season.
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Related: Are the Red Sox positioning themselves to beat the odds?
Manager Alex Cora doesn’t see the numbers as a problem.
“That’s good, a deeper ball club,” Cora said. “We’ll have options late in games and we can take care of guys.”
Duran, Rafaela, and O’Neill were the configuration against the Reds for Friday night’s 5-2 loss. Refsnyder is dealing with a sore right knee, so playing time won’t be an issue for now.
Cora said Gonzalez can play first base, so the move to bring back Abreu will likely be to option Bobby Dalbec back to Worcester. Dalbec was 0 for 3 on Friday and met with Cora after the game.
Abreu was one of the first players to arrive at the clubhouse ahead of the series opener. He’s excited to be back on the varsity.
“I was focused on having good at-bats and getting my timing back,” he said. “[The Sox] are playing very good baseball right now and it was very fun to watch. It’s nice to be back here.”
Steamy times in Ohio
“Hydration!” was written on the clubhouse message board in English, Spanish, and Japanese. It was 94 degrees when the Sox took batting practice and 91 at first pitch.
There’s an air quality alert through Sunday and a heat advisory.
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With the team having had a day off Thursday, Cora isn’t too concerned. But he did acknowledge that his plans to catch Connor Wong for all three games could change.
“I can play all three,” Wong said. “I changed my jersey halfway through, that was it.”
The players didn’t seem to mind.
“Hot is 100 times better than cold,” reliever Justin Slaten said. “I’d much rather have weather like this.”
Despite the weather, Cora got in his daily run Friday. He blamed a good dinner Thursday night for going 3 miles instead of the usual 4.
Stop, thief
Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz leads the majors with 37 stolen bases, 11 more than second-place Brice Turang of the Brewers had entering Friday. Cincinnati leads the majors with 107 steals.
Related: Red Sox have jump-started their offense by becoming baseball’s men of steal
The Sox have run a few teams ragged in recent weeks. Now they have to defend against it.
“If we throw the ball to the right bases, we’re going to be fine,” Cora said. “They’re a very aggressive team but there’s a lot of outs out there. First things first, keep him off base.
“You’ve just got to be patient. You cannot get caught up in throwing to the wrong base or trying to get him out when you can’t. You’ve got to be disciplined. Hopefully he doesn’t steal first.”
Friday was the first time De La Cruz faced the Sox. He was 0 for 3 with a walk and didn’t attempt any steals.
Just in case
Do the Red Sox have an emergency catcher? Ask catching coach Jason Varitek, Cora suggested. “Good question,” the captain said. “Maybe [Dalbec]. He’s tall. He’d be good with high fastballs.” Varitek also mentioned that Yoshida caught in high school. Let’s assume he was joking about both players. Cora did mention Gonzalez as an option … Nick Pivetta is the scheduled starter Saturday. He had a 3.04 ERA in his first five starts. It’s 4.73 in five starts since. Pivetta is 1-1 with a 2.92 ERA in seven career appearances against the Reds. Since his trade to the Red Sox in 2020, he’s faced Cincinnati twice, throwing two innings of scoreless relief last season at Fenway Park … The Reds called up well-traveled backup catcher Austin Wynns from Triple A Louisville and optioned outfielder Jacob Hurtubise. Outfielder Conner Caple was designated for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot for Wynns … There was a moment of silence in memory of Willie Mays before the game.
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Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him @PeteAbe.
