It may have been something of an eyebrow-raiser to see Christian Arroyo ahead of Xander Bogaerts in the lineup as the Red Sox began a pivotal series on Friday in Cleveland.
But ultimately, nothing was lost from the absence of their franchise shortstop.
Instead, it was Arroyo who seemed to be trying to make up for lost time. After spending 10 days away following another bout with COVID-19, Arroyo returned with a vengeance. Stepping in for Bogaerts — who was just taking a day off — the shortstop fill-in’s impact was felt all night, none greater than his go-ahead home run in the seventh as the Red Sox started a big road trip with a 6-3 win over the Guardians.
