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Xander Bogaerts exits game after suffering ankle injury

Xander Bogaerts reaches for his sore left ankle after he was injured chasing an errant throw in front of the Rays dugout.Jim Davis/Globe Staff

Shortstop Xander Bogaerts had to be helped off the field in the seventh inning of the Red Sox’ 8-7 comeback win Sunday over the Tampa Bay Rays.

After cutting off a throw to third from left fielder J.D. Martinez, Bogaerts tried to make a flip toss to the bag, but no one was there. He ended up chasing the ball down to keep it from rolling into the Rays dugout, sliding to try to stop it.

In the process, his momentum carried him over and down the dugout steps, causing what the team announced as a left ankle injury.

The extent of the injury is yet to be determined. Sox manager Alex Cora said Bogaerts will be evaluated Monday.

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“We’ll know tomorrow after all the tests,” Cora said.

Bogaerts was swinging the hottest bat in the Sox’ lineup. After going 1 for 3 Sunday, he was hitting .368 with two homers and nine RBIs. He drove in a career-high six runs in Saturday’s 10-3 win over the Rays.

“He’s played great,” said Sox outfielder Mookie Betts. “Hopefully it’s nothing too serious. If he has to miss a couple games, that’s OK. But if we have him in the long run, that’s a huge plus.”

With Bogaerts out, Cora turned to Brock Holt at shortstop. It was Holt’s first appearance at short since Sept. 22, 2016. He raced to his right for a ground ball for the final out of the Sox’s 8-7 comeback win.

If Bogaert is out for an extended period, Holt said he feels comfortable playing short.

“He’s been our best player up to this point, so we’ll definitely miss him, but hopefully everything turns out OK,” Holt said. “I feel comfortable at shortstop, second base, third base, pretty much anywhere. It’s a tough team to crack the lineup. You hate to see Bogey get injured there, especially with his spot coming up in the order there in a big spot. But I feel like I can step in and do a good job.”

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Julian Benbow can be reached at jbenbow@globe.com.