Alex Bregman returns to Red Sox lineup after right quad injury

BOSTON — For the first time in 42 games, Red Sox manager Alex Cora penciled Alex Bregman‘s name onto the lineup card on Friday night. Bregman got the start at third base and went 1-for-4 with a double in Boston’s 5-4 win over the Rays.

“Honestly, took a few at-bats to get feeling good,” Bregman said. “Most importantly, body felt good and was able to score a few balls up there the last two at-bats. So good to be back. What an incredible team win.”

Bregman grounded out in his first at-bat and was noticeably not running up the first-base line at full speed. Bregman confirmed after the game that he felt 100 percent physically and is monitoring his speed as a precaution considering he forgoed a Minor League rehab assignment.

“Yeah, it sucks,” Bregman said. “But it’s something that — the first few weeks especially — just got to be smart out of the box. … It was good to get back. My body feels good. Just super thankful to our training staff, strength conditioning staff and everyone in the medical department for allowing me to get back this quick.”

Prior to suffering a right quad injury that put him on the injured list on May 23, Bregman hit .299 with 11 homers, 35 RBIs and a .938 OPS. At the time, the Red Sox were 26-26 and five games behind the Yankees in the American League East. The club weathered a number of storms over the past month and change, which included five- and six-game losing streaks, to go 23-19 without Bregman and keep pace in the AL Wild Card race.

Though the Red Sox were without their offseason free-agent acquisition on the field, Bregman managed to still positively impact the team during his time on the injured list. Two players who have particularly benefited from the 10-year veteran’s presence and wisdom are top prospects Roman Anthony (No. 1) and Marcelo Mayer (No. 2) both of whom were called up after Bregman was sidelined.

Bregman has acted as a mentor for his younger teammates, walking Anthony through video on the dugout iPad and chatting through at-bats while sitting at their neighboring lockers. Cora says Bregman has shown such leadership qualities “since day one.”

“From conversations in the cafeteria in Spring Training to dinners at The Capital Grille with the whole group,” Cora said, “and then what he’s done on the road with them. He hasn’t played with Marcelo and Roman, but just communicating with them, paying attention to what they’re doing in Triple-A, it’s amazing. Like I said, I thought I loved the game. I thought I was like, up there. This guy’s way up there. Sometimes, I just laugh. I’m like, ‘Man, you’re nuts, man. There’s more than baseball.’”

Mayer and Bregman had their first opportunity to share a field on Friday night, with Mayer shifting over to second base after getting 25 starts at third in Bregman’s absence. In order to make room for Bregman on the roster, infielder David Hamilton was optioned to Triple-A Worcester. Through just 37 games with Boston, Mayer has shown he deserves a spot in the lineup, most recently with a timely hit in Thursday’s series opener and an RBI double off the Green Monster in the fourth inning on Friday.

“He’s a big part of what we’re trying to accomplish now [and] in the future,” Cora said of Mayer. “He’s a good defender. Offensively, there’s upside. He can also play third.”

The plan for the next week and a half is for Bregman to play in Sunday’s finale against the Rays, two out of three in Chicago against the Cubs and then two out of three in Philadelphia to close out the first road trip out of the All-Star break. Cora said Mayer will assume third-base duties whenever Bregman is sitting.

Bregman joins the team just two days after the Red Sox welcomed back Masataka Yoshida, who went 3-for-4 with an RBI in his season debut against Colorado on Wednesday. In the last 30 days, Boston’s offense has put up 136 runs (tied for fourth most in the AL), 130 RBIs (tied for third most in the AL) and has the fourth-best OPS (.778) in the AL. And now, they have their best hitter back in the lineup.

The pieces are coming together for Boston (51-45), who moved into the second AL Wild Card spot, leapfrogging Tampa Bay (50-45) with Friday’s win. Now, the Red Sox look to finish the weekend strong and ride the momentum into the second half.