Tanner Houck talks about his evolution, contract
New month, same story for the Red Sox.
On the first day of June the Red Sox were stricken with yet another injury, this time it was Vaughn Grissom who suffered a right hamstring strain while running out a grounder in the second inning.
The second baseman, who missed the season's first month due to a groin ailment, will be headed to the injured list according to manager Alex Cora.
"It’s pretty frustrating," said Grissom after the Red Sox' 6-3 win over the Tigers Saturday afternoon. "Trying to dig one out. Obviously it’s very unexpected. It just grabbed on me. I feel like I was at the light at the end of the tunnel. It sucks."
Grissom was playing in his 23rd game since being activated, having collected hits in four of the six games leading into Saturday. He will be headed to the IL hitting .148 with a .367 OPS.
It marks the second time Grissom has suffered a hamstring injury since joining the Red Sox, being sidelined with a left leg issue early in spring training.
Connor Wong came on to play second for Grissom, with Enmanuel Valdez already manning the designated hitter spot. Valdez, who figures to get a significant chunk of playing time, was the offensive star for the Red Sox in the win, notching a pair of home runs along with a double.
"He’s a good player," Cora said of Valdez. "He put good at bats. And like I said when we sent him down, he didn't do anything wrong. He played well. He put good at bats. When you look at numbers, he’s hitting .180 and it doesn’t feel that way. He manages the at-bat just like Wily and he worked on a few things down there as far as timing and staying close, not flying open and the first one, a great at-bat. Then he goes the other way, and obviously Pesky pole one, but overall a good one. We like the at-bat. This guy can hit, both of them. Like I said before, they come from an organization that does an outstanding job controlling the zone and that's why he does."