Who’s on 2nd? Pedey in limbo
The New York Yankees are coming to town and the Red Sox may be without their leadoff hitter.
As of yesterday afternoon, it was still unclear if the Sox would have Dustin Pedroia available for their first series with Yankees, which begins tonight at Fenway Park.
Pedroia, who missed the final two games of the weekend in Baltimore with a sore left knee and ankle after Manny Machado’s spikes-up slide injured him on Friday, was examined at Mass. General yesterday. The Red Sox provided no other details except that Pedroia is still considered day-to-day.
Pedroia did not originally expect a stint on the 10day disabled list, though if he’s to miss any more time this week, it could make sense to put him on the DL and add another player to the roster.
Making roster needs more pressing is the right knee injury Pablo Sandoval sustained Sunday while diving for a ground ball.
Sandoval had an MRI scheduled at Mass. General yesterday afternoon.
Without both Pedroia and Sandoval, the Red Sox were forced to use Steve Selsky at third base late in Sunday’s game. The outfielder has appeared only twice at third base in a major league game.
Utility man Brock Holt is also unavailable, on the DL with vertigo.
Josh Rutledge, on the DL with a hamstring strain, had his rehab assignment changed yesterday, perhaps to give him one last day of work before the Red Sox add him to the roster today. He was originally rehabbing with Triple-A Pawtucket, but instead was sent to Double-A Portland since the PawSox had the day off.
Marco Hernandez has been filling in for Pedroia at second base.
The only other infielder on the 40-man roster is Deven Marrero, who is hitting .103 with Pawtucket. Big challenge
Chris Sale dominated the American League’s worst lineup last week, but he’ll get a test against the AL’s best tomorrow night.
Sale starts Game 2 of the three-game set with the Yankees in what will be his first taste of the storied rivalry.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman called the Red Sox the “Golden State Warriors of baseball” after they acquired Sale in the offseason.
The Yankees are off to a surprising start. Instead of another bridge year while they wait for players like Gleyber Torres and Clint Frazier to develop in the minors, the Yanks have a better record (11-7) than the Red Sox (11-8). They’re scoring 5.11 runs per game with an offense that’s the fifthmost difficult to strike out and drawing the fifth-most walks in the majors.
Rick Porcello, who starts tonight, looks to keep the momentum built off his last start, when he used more of his sinker and found some success against the Blue Jays.
“I had to get back to it,” Porcello said. “I threw a lot of four-seamers in my last start, didn’t have a whole lot of command, not a good separation between my sinker and my four-seamer so that was my primary focus, keeping the ball down, establishing that and keep going from there.”
The Yankees are without budding star Gary Sanchez, who began the year on the DL, but have gotten a boost from Aaron Judge, the 6-foot-7 rookie who has six homers through 17 games.
“You can learn more about your team facing an opponent like the Red Sox,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters on Sunday. “Obviously, it’s a very talented group, we know that. And we’re going to see some good starting pitching, a good bullpen, and they run the bases, they hit, they do a lot of things. But sometimes it’s about when you play a team as much as who you’re playing, too.”
Sale in mix
Sale was mentioned as a candidate for American League Player of the Week due to his eight-inning gem against the Blue Jays last week. MLB’s press release called it a “masterful performance.” . . .
David Price threw a 45-pitch bullpen session yesterday at Fenway Park, getting up and down three times. It’s the fifth bullpen session he’s thrown since the elbow strain he suffered in early March. The next step has yet to be determined.