CHICAGO — The
Red Sox
‘
initial lineup
Sunday vs. the Cubs had
Masataka Yoshida
as the DH and
Roman Anthony
as the left fielder.
But Anthony is feeling “a little bit under the weather,” manager Alex Cora said. Cora, therefore, decided to move Anthony to DH and give Masataka Yoshida his first start in the outfield since Oct. 1, 2023.
“Get the four at-bats as a DH and stay inside,” Cora said about Anthony. “With Ceddanne (Rafaela) playing second, we’re comfortable playing Masa in left field.”
All five of Yoshida’s previous starts this season have come at DH.
Boston activated him from the 60-day IL on July 9
after he recovered slowly from a
right shoulder labral repair
that he underwent last October.
“We’ve got a lot of outfielders but he can play left field,” Cora said. “We know that. … He’ll play out there. We’ll keep moving guys around. But most of the time he’s going to DH.”
Yoshida played 12 innings in left field during his rehab assignment.
“It’s been a while so I’m looking forward to it,” said Yoshida through translator Yutaro Yamaguchi.
Yoshida played just one inning in the outfield during the 2024 season.
“One thing I have to be careful about is the wind, for sure,” he said. “And all the conditions and all the (ivy on the outfield wall).”
He said he has tried to get outfield reps during batting practice before every game.
“My goal was to get back out there in the outfield when I got the surgery,” Yoshida said. “It’s been a long process but to be able to go back out there and play the outfield, it’s really important for me.”
The Red Sox and Cubs will play the final game of their three-game series Sunday at 2:20 p.m. eastern here at Wrigley Field. Ace
Garrett Crochet
(10-4, 2.23 ERA) will start for Boston opposite Cubs righty Cade Horton (3-3, 4.45 ERA).
