Red Sox News: Alex Verdugo eyeing tonight’s game despite foot injury

Alex Verdugo won’t let his foot stop him from helping the Red Sox

Last night the Red Sox walked away with a big win but in those efforts, they also suffered a loss. Alex Verdugo was pulled from the game late after fouling a ball off of his foot. He would still contribute as he was able to knock in a run thanks to a well-struck double but that would soon spell the end of his night. Luckily, there’s some good news to come out of the foot injury and Verdugo isn’t giving up hopes of playing tonight.

MassLive’s Christopher Smith reported that his x-rays came back negative and despite some swelling and a limp, there was no further damage to Verdugo’s foot. The Red Sox pummeled the Rangers last night in Arlington and Verdugo’s RBI double sparked a four-run rally that would put the game out of reach for Texas. Dugie has quickly become a fan favorite since arriving ahead of the 2020 season and he’s been at the center of some of the team’s biggest moments.

"“It’s good. It’s sore but it should be all right,” Verdugo said after Boston won 7-1 over the Rangers here at Globe Life Field"

It’s no surprise that Alex wants to play tonight despite not being 100%. He’s a guy who started the season white-hot but has since cooled as Boston continues to tread water. He went 1-3 last night with a run and the aforementioned RBI double. He’s one of the guys that needs to find his swing again in order for the Red Sox to get back on the right track. When Verdugo is feeling it and is locked in he’s one of the hardest outs in the game.

Verdugo knows how important he is to this Red Sox lineup and doesn’t want to miss any time so he has his sights set on playing tonight. Obviously, with the game not being until much later today we won’t know if he’s going to be in the lineup for a few more hours. The charismatic outfielder said he’s using an anti-inflammatory to try and curb any swelling that would hinder his ability to play.

"“I’ve got an anti-inflammation patch on it,” Verdugo said. “So just kind of take it day by day, see how it goes. But my goal is to be in there tomorrow.”"

While it’s still semi-early in the season and pushing someone to play with an injury may not be the best plan of attack, I’m not sure Boston can afford to not have Verdugo in the lineup. He may not be firing as we’ve seen him do in the past but he can still pose a threat to the opposition. The Red Sox may not be showing any signs of panic but the fans sure are feeling it.

Being in the basement of the AL East and 12 games off of the Yankees sure isn’t a fun feeling this early in the season. You can’t win in April but you can sure as hell lose in April, and the fellas are heading that way so far. Last night’s win was a nice confidence booster but we need more of those games and having Alex in the lineup lends results to be more positive than negative.

Alex Cora mentioned that Verdugo’s status would all depend on how he looked in the clubhouse and around practice this morning. If he’s able to move around the field and get in a good batting practice we will more than likely see him suit up for tonight. I don’t want Dugie to make things worse by playing when his body isn’t ready but I also think this lineup is much better with him in it.