{"id":3083,"date":"2026-06-19T12:04:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T12:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083"},"modified":"2026-06-19T12:04:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T12:04:38","slug":"isiah-kiner-falefa-filling-in-nicely-for-shorthanded-red-sox-infield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083","title":{"rendered":"Isiah Kiner-Falefa filling in nicely for shorthanded Red Sox infield"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>Early in the season, <b>Isiah Kiner-Falefa\u2019s<\/b> hold on a roster spot seemed tenuous. Signed to a one-year, $6 million deal in February, he went a week between starts at one point, and averaged less than one plate appearance per game through the Red Sox\u2019 first 47 contests.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3081\">Eddie Andelman gave us sports talk radio gold with his no-holds-barred interview of Wade Boggs in 1989<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>That\u2019s changed significantly. Injuries to <b>Trevor Story<\/b> and <b>Nick Sogard<\/b> opened a door, and Kiner-Falefa has emerged as a lineup constant.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Thursday\u2019s 4-3 loss to the Blue Jays marked the 25th consecutive Sox game in which he\u2019s played, during which he\u2019s been a strong offensive contributor (.312\/.384\/.429 after going 1 for 3 with a homer) with impressive defense at second, short, and third.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>\u201cThe goal was always to get back in the lineup at some point,\u201d said Kiner-Falefa. \u201cI kind of was like the last pick, and then finally got a chance and ran with it for a little while, and now I\u2019m back in there. Now it\u2019s about staying in there and helping the team win.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><span>Even as his role has grown, however, Kiner-Falefa takes little satisfaction in it given his team\u2019s performance. Being a regular contributor on a team mired in last place wasn\u2019t what drew him to Boston.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhen I originally signed here, I thought it was going to be a breeze to get to the playoffs. I really looked at how the team was last year and I was like, \u2018We\u2019ll take the next step,\u2019 \u201d said Kiner-Falefa. \u201cI signed up to be a bench player for a championship team. When I wasn\u2019t playing [earlier this year], I was still optimistic we were gonna be a contender. Being a bench player on a contender isn\u2019t a bad thing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And now?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThings aren\u2019t really working out that way,\u201d said Kiner-Falefa. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to be back in the lineup, for sure, but at the same time, I wish we were in a better spot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div><span>Related<span>: <\/span><\/span>The Red Sox almost beat the Blue Jays after rallying from three runs down. Almost.<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h2>Offensive woes<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>The phrase \u201cscoring position\u201d sometimes feels like an oxymoron. The Sox went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position Thursday, concluding a series against the Jays in which the team forged a 1-for-29 (.034) mark in such situations. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3079\">Less than halfway through the season and it\u2019s clear the Red Sox should raise the white flag on 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>It\u2019s the worst performance since at least 1974 by the Sox in a single series with at least 25 at-bats with runners in scoring position. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt\u2019s hard to believe,\u201d interim manager <b>Chad Tracy<\/b> acknowledged of those woes.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h2>Mayer sits<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Last week, <b>Marcelo Mayer\u2019s<\/b> introduction of a toe tap raised the possibility of more authoritative contact. He collected extra-base hits in back-to-back games in Tampa Bay, then missed the series finale due to upper back and neck spasms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Since returning to the lineup, he is 2 for 15, dropping his line for the season to .216\/.285\/.303. Tracy gave him Thursday off.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThere\u2019s periods where you kind of feel like it\u2019s getting a lot better and then some stretches of at-bats where you feel like it\u2019s not as good,\u201d Tracy said of Mayer\u2019s offense.<\/span><\/p>\n<div><span>Related<span>: <\/span><\/span>Time to face facts: There\u2019s no hope for these Red Sox<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h2>Need of a break<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Through 72 games, Sox outfielders <b>Wilyer Abreu<\/b> (71 games), <b>Ceddanne Rafaela<\/b> (69), and <b>Jarren Duran<\/b> (67) have been lineup constants. The Sox hope to give all three a respite during the upcoming road trip, either with a day off or a day at DH. The Sox will use <b>Nate Eaton<\/b> to help spell the trio . . . <b>Romy Gonzalez<\/b>, who went 1 for 5 with a homer and a walk in two rehab games with Double-A Portland, was off on Thursday. He\u2019s expected to play first base for the Sea Dogs on Friday. While Tracy said there\u2019s an \u201coutside chance\u201d Gonzalez, who underwent shoulder surgery during spring training, gets activated during the road trip, the interim manager identified the homestand that starts on June 25 as a more likely target.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h2>Going global<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Red Sox players donned World Cup jerseys for the cross-country trip to Seattle. Mindful that several of his mates might forget the required apparel, avuncular reliever <b>Tommy Kahnle<\/b>, who has been wearing a rotation of soccer jerseys this week, brought eight extra shirts for members of the club . . . Neither outfielder <b>Roman Anthony<\/b> (partially torn right ring finger ligament) nor lefthander <b>Garrett Crochet<\/b> (lat strain) will accompany the Sox on their road trip, instead staying in Boston to continue their rehabs . . . As part of Black and African American Celebration Day at Fenway Park, two Tuskegee Airmen with deep roots in Massachusetts, Dr. <b>Harold May<\/b> and Brigadier Gen. <b>Enoch Woodhouse<\/b>, threw out ceremonial first pitches. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3077\">Week 1 review: The World Cup has delivered in a big way, and other takeaways<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thursday marked the 25th consecutive Sox game in which he\u2019s played, during which he\u2019s been a strong offensive contributor (.312\/.384\/.429 after going 1 for 3 with a homer) with impressive defense at second, short, and third.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Isiah Kiner-Falefa filling in nicely for shorthanded Red Sox infield - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Isiah Kiner-Falefa filling in nicely for shorthanded Red Sox infield - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Thursday marked the 25th consecutive Sox game in which he\u2019s played, during which he\u2019s been a strong offensive contributor (.312\/.384\/.429 after going 1 for 3 with a homer) with impressive defense at second, short, and third.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-19T12:04:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3083#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3083\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"headline\":\"Isiah Kiner-Falefa filling in nicely for shorthanded Red Sox infield\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-19T12:04:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3083\"},\"wordCount\":850,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3083#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a9a52297770da541d45b1270ee98c68f.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3083#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3083\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3083\",\"name\":\"Isiah Kiner-Falefa filling in nicely for shorthanded Red Sox infield - Boston Relocation Insider\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3083#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3083#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a9a52297770da541d45b1270ee98c68f.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-19T12:04:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3083#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3083\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3083#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a9a52297770da541d45b1270ee98c68f.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a9a52297770da541d45b1270ee98c68f.avif\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":960},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3083#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Isiah Kiner-Falefa filling in nicely for shorthanded Red Sox infield\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Boston Relocation Insider\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Isiah Kiner-Falefa filling in nicely for shorthanded Red Sox infield - Boston Relocation Insider","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Isiah Kiner-Falefa filling in nicely for shorthanded Red Sox infield - Boston Relocation Insider","og_description":"Thursday marked the 25th consecutive Sox game in which he\u2019s played, during which he\u2019s been a strong offensive contributor (.312\/.384\/.429 after going 1 for 3 with a homer) with impressive defense at second, short, and third.","og_url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083","og_site_name":"Boston Relocation Insider","article_published_time":"2026-06-19T12:04:38+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"headline":"Isiah Kiner-Falefa filling in nicely for shorthanded Red Sox infield","datePublished":"2026-06-19T12:04:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083"},"wordCount":850,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a9a52297770da541d45b1270ee98c68f.avif","articleSection":["Sport"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083","name":"Isiah Kiner-Falefa filling in nicely for shorthanded Red Sox infield - Boston Relocation Insider","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a9a52297770da541d45b1270ee98c68f.avif","datePublished":"2026-06-19T12:04:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a9a52297770da541d45b1270ee98c68f.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a9a52297770da541d45b1270ee98c68f.avif","width":1440,"height":960},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3083#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Isiah Kiner-Falefa filling in nicely for shorthanded Red Sox infield"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/","name":"Boston Relocation Insider","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com"],"url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3083\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}