BOSTON — Wilyer Abreu delivered his first career walkoff RBI on Sunday. His 10th-inning single off the Green Monster gave the Red Sox a 5-4 victory over the Cardinals in Game 1 of their doubleheader and it continued his torrid start to 2025.
The 25-year-old right fielder is 12-for-23 (.522) with three home runs, two doubles, nine RBIs, 10 runs, eight walks and two strikeouts in nine games.
Not bad for a player who didn’t appear in a Grapefruit League game until March 15 because he battled a viral gastrointestinal illness during the beginning of camp. That caused him to lose weight.
“I felt confident when I left spring training that I was healthy and ready to have a very good season,” Abreu said through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez. “Obviously this is way better than I expected.”
Abreu came off the bench as a pinch hitter and walked during Boston’s two-run rally to tie the game in the ninth inning.
Manager Alex Cora said Sunday morning that he planned to give Abreu the first game off because of “heavy legs.”
“The idea is to stay healthy the whole season,” Abreu said. “My legs were a little bit tired so it was the best decision for me to not start the first game. But besides that, I feel very good.”
Maybe Abreu’s most impressive stat this season is he has struck out just twice. Abreu struck out in 28% of his plate appearances last year. He has a 6.9% strikeout percentage so far, which is in the 96th percentile among MLB hitters.
“That was a focal point during the offseason and also in spring training,” Abreu said. “I felt like last year I struck out a lot. And when I don’t strike out, I feel like I have a good opportunity to contribute to the team and to hit the ball hard. So for me, it was a very important thing to try to cut down on strikeouts and also focus on the strike zone.”
The left-handed hitter’s game-winner went to the opposite field, something he wants to do more this year.
“Try to use the whole field,” Abreu said. “It’s a huge help — even more here at Fenway when we try to use the Monster to our advantage. If I’m able to do that consistently, it’s going to be a very good year for me.”
