Red Sox 1B Willson Contreras (hand) exits early; initial scans negative

Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras left Sunday's game after being hit on the right hand by a pitch from Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Nick Martinez in the first inning.

Contreras ran the bases, but did not return to the field for the second inning as the Red Sox initially said he had a contusion. However, the club sent Contreras for imaging to determine the severity, and initial X-rays came back negative.

"Sore. That's all we know at this point," interim manager Chad Tracy said postgame. "And obviously we have an off day (Monday). That helps a lot, and then we'll kind of reevaluate and see how he feels and hopefully we're OK there."

It was the eighth time Contreras has been hit by a pitch, which tied him with St. Louis' J.J. Wetherholt and Ivan Herrera for the MLB lead.

Contreras, who turns 34 on Wednesday, leads Boston with eight homers and 23 RBIs while batting .259 in 39 games.

The three-time All-Star is in his first season with the Red Sox. He has a .258 career batting average with 180 homers and 571 RBIs in 1,116 games with the Chicago Cubs (2016-22), St. Louis Cardinals (2023-25) and Boston.

Andruw Monasterio replaced Contreras at first base and finished 2-for-3 with a double. The Rays won 4-1, leaving Boston with a 17-23 record.

--Field Level Media