BOSTON — Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo returned to the beginning lineup for Sunday’s recreation towards Toronto, a day after he was benched by supervisor Alex Cora.

“Hopefully we learned as a group from what happened yesterday and that’s the reason that we did it,” Cora mentioned. “It was my decision not to play him and I have my reasons and we’ll leave it at that.”

On Saturday, the Red Sox scratched Verdugo about two hours earlier than their 5-4 loss to the Blue Jays. No purpose was given through the recreation. He was changed within the lineup by Adam Duvall.

Following the sport, Cora mentioned: “We took a step back as a team. We have to make sure everybody’s available every single day here for us to get to wherever we’re going to go. And that wasn’t the case. … I’ve got to take charge of this and decided he wasn’t going to play.”

When Verdugo spoke to the media, he mentioned it was: “manager’s decision. We’re going to leave it at that.”

Earlier this season, Cora benched Verdugo for not hustling and after final season the supervisor challenged him to be in higher ready.

Cora addressed these issues Sunday morning.

“I feel I mentioned it final 12 months: ‘It’s the place you wish to go as a participant,’’’ Cora mentioned. “It’s who you're and the place you wish to be. This child, he’s very proficient.

“We’re here to help him and support him. We see flashes of greatness and we see flashes of struggles. … Everybody’s different in that clubhouse and you have to deal with them in different ways.”

Cora additional defined that he hopes the self-discipline helps encourage the 27-year-old outfielder.

“He’s a smart kid. He has his ups and downs like everybody else,” Cora mentioned. “Sometimes you’ve got to show him some tough love and sometimes you’ve got to be there for him in another way. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

Verdugo was acquired within the February 2020 commerce that despatched Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is hitting .270 with eight homers and 41 RBIs in 98 video games this season.

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