ARLINGTON, Texas — Before Friday night, the last major league game Bryce Brentz played in was Sept. 28, 2014. He was standing in left field when Derek Jeter came out of his final major league game after an RBI single in the third inning.
Brentz has gone through some tough times since. A fractured left thumb limited him to 63 games for Triple A Pawtucket in 2015. He then went 0 for 16 with 12 strikeouts for the Red Sox during spring training this season and was optioned on March 15.
Brentz then strained an oblique muscle and started the season on the disabled list with Pawtucket.
Now the 27-year-old is getting an unexpected second chance. With the Red Sox running out of outfielders, Brentz was recalled and started in left field against the Texas Rangers.
“I’ve come a long way since April,’’ he said he said before going 1 for 4 in the Red Sox’ 8-7 comeback win.
A supplemental first-round pick in 2010, Brentz has hit only .262 with a .786 OPS over 580 minor league games and has dealt with an assortment of injuries.
“Patience and hard work,’’ he said when asked what lessons he has learned in baseball. “The last three years have been difficult with injuries and it’s been depressing at times. . . . Trying to be a good teammate and helping each other out it what it’s all about.’’
Brentz’s righthanded power — he has 95 career home runs in the minors — has kept him on the 40-man roster. He hit .278 with a .744 OPS in 38 games for Pawtucket with three home runs and 17 RBIs.
When Brentz was called up in 2014, the Red Sox were a last-place team staggering to the finish. Now he’s charged with helping a team that’s in contention.
“You can’t say it’s not [different],’’ he said. “They have a great team that has been playing well. I want to do my part and help out as best I can.’’
The Sox needed Brentz when Chris Young was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring.
Young had a Grade 1 strain, better than what the Red Sox thought when he took a spill rounding first base after a single in the second inning on Thursday.
Young will surely miss more than 15 days but manager John Farrell said the initial diagnosis was encouraging given his range of motion.
Young hit .277 with a robust .846 OPS in 48 games.
Brentz was the only outfielder on the 40-man roster not already on the major league roster or the DL. The Red Sox had the option of putting Rusney Castillo back on the roster but decided against it.
General manager Dave Dombrowski said the Red Sox did not consider calling up 21-year-old Andrew Benintendi from Double A Portland. Friday was only the 33d game Benintendi has played for the Sea Dogs.
Rehab work
Ryan Hanigan was 1 for 2 and scored a run for Pawtucket in the second game of his injury rehabilitation assignment. He also caught five innings. He caught one runner stealing and picked off another. Hanigan is on the disabled list with a strained neck.
Brock Holt played the fourth game of his rehab assignment. He was 0 for 4 and played eight innings in left field.
Murphy gets a hand
The Rangers held a brief ceremony before the game to honor retired outfielder David Murphy.
Murphy, 34, played for Texas from 2007-13 and appeared in 27 playoff games. He was a first-round draft pick of the Red Sox in 2003 out of Baylor. Murphy played 23 games for the Sox before he and two other prospects were traded to Texas for Eric Gagne in 2007.
Gagne pitched terribly for the Red Sox and Murphy went on to a solid career. He had a .765 OPS and 104 home runs over 1,110 games.
Murphy signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox before spring this season but was released in the final week. He then played 10 Triple A games for the Minnesota Twins before deciding to retire.
Ortiz to be honored
The Rangers will make a pregame presentation to David Ortiz on Saturday in recognition of his retirement after the season. Third baseman Adrian Beltre, who played for the Red Sox in 2010, will represent the Rangers . . . The rosters for the All-Star Game will be announced on July?5. The on-line voting at MLB.com concludes at 11:59 p.m. Thursday. The starters will be based on voting by the fans. The pitchers and reserves will be selected based on voting by the players and picks made by the managers. Many of the Red Sox players did their voting Friday . . . Through Thursday, Bogaerts and Mookie Betts were the only players with at least 50 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Bogaerts leads the majors with 33 multi-hit games. Betts is second with 32.
. . . Xander Bogaerts has four career walk-off hits, the most for a Red Sox player before turning 24 since Bobby Doerr had four
