Alex Bregman dropped an off-the-Monster single in the fifth inning against the Baltimore Orioles. He sprinted to first base and a good way to second, but turned back quickly.
When he returned to the bag, he immediately summoned a trainer. Bregman walked into foul territory with a slight limp, and it didn't take long for him to descend the dugout steps and out of the game. The Red Sox moved Nick Sogard to third base in Bregman's stead and Abraham Toro to first base, where Sogard started the game.
Update: NESN announced on its broadcast of the game that Bregman exited with right quad tightness.
There was no visible sign of injury while Bregman ran, but it could've come when he stopped short of running to second base. The Red Sox have not yet offered a formal diagnosis. Boston will be lucky if it's a pulled muscle and a 15-day injured list stint, but any injury to Bregman is a tough break. It's especially concerning that he called for the trainer so quickly — he instantly knew he had to come out of the game.
An injury to Bregman is the absolute last thing the Red Sox need. He's been the team's most consistent hitter with a .299/.385/.553 slash line and .938 OPS over 51 games. With Trevor Story and Kristan Campbell's severe slumps at the plate, Bregman's right-handed bat has been critical to Boston's already slim run production.
Alex Bregman leaves first game of Orioles-Red Sox doubleheader with apparent injury while running out a single
The Red Sox don't have many good depth options for third base. Asking Rafael Devers to switch positions again seems out of the question, and playing Toro and Sogard at the corners every day is far from inspiring. Boston could summon Marcelo Mayer to take over at third base, but the team has been adamant about only having top prospects play their primary positions (until it started working Campbell out at first base).
Quad tightness could be a relatively mild outcome for Bregman, all things considered. Hopefully, he can bounce back quickly with a short IL stint. The Red Sox have a difficult stretch of their schedule coming up in June, including another bout with the Braves and two series against the Yankees within a week of each other, and they'll need Bregman's bat to stay afloat in the division.