Ahead of Wednesday’s series finale, manager Mike Shildt decided to remove Bogaerts from the starting lineup, with Jose Iglesias taking over at shortstop. The move comes with star outfielder Jackson Merrill set to miss his third straight game with an ankle injury, leaving San Diego with two key pieces on the bench.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora joked about reconnecting with Xander Bogaerts: “It’s great because now he pays for dinner. He has a lot of money. I tried yesterday and he’s like, ‘Nah, nah, don’t even do it.

Jake Cronenworth is back in Wednesday’s lineup. Jackson Merrill, however, is not as the 22-year-old center fielder will miss a third straight game since leaving Sunday with left ankle discomfort. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts will also sit after he was hit by a pitch and took a foul ball off his shin on Tuesday.

Jose Iglesias reaches on a fielding error then Xander Bogaerts scores on a throwing error, making the score 4-1 in the bottom of the 7th

As Dennis Lin of The Athletic pointed out, the resurgence of Xander Bogaerts lately has been a huge reason for the Padres taking the lead from the Dodgers in the NL West. Ironically, his resurgence came after a loss to the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

San Diego Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts commended Will Smith for his play behind the plate on Saturday, as he threw out three Padres baserunners in the first