Drop of a hat with DH
Ramirez out of cleanup, hits 7th
TORONTO — Fresh off an ugly three-game sweep at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles, the Red Sox had a new cleanup hitter for the start of their threegame series against the Blue Jays.
Hanley Ramirez, stuck in a 1-for-15 slump with eight strikeouts in his last four games, was dropped to seventh in the batting order last night at the Rogers Centre.
It’s the lowest batting order position for Ramirez this season. The designated hitter responded with two hits and a pair of runs in the Red Sox’ 6-5 victory over the Blue Jays that snapped a four-game losing streak.
“To take a different look,” Sox manager John Farrell said. “We’ve had a lot of opportunities that have come up (and went unconverted). I think Hanley would be one of the first ones to acknowledge that this month in particular has been a little bit of a tough stretch for him, so a little bit of a shuffle to the lineup.”
Farrell said he talked about the change with Ramirez, who is hitting .191 with runners in scoring position, putting him among the 20 worst clutch hitters this season.
The Red Sox have said Ramirez is a better hitter when he’s trying to spray line drives all over the field. But the frequency in which his helmet falls to the ground is an indication that he’s swinging for more than line drives.
“Has there been maybe a little more tendency to try to pull the ball? That’s possible,” Farrell said. “It could also be a result of him being pounded in and then he’ll chase breaking balls away. He continually works and when you watch BP — BP and then carrying it into the game is really the bridge to success. You look at the BP, it’s quality, it’s consistent and yet at times those opportunities have resulted in a mishit ground ball and maybe a fastball he hasn’t caught up to. We’re working to get better.”
Last night, Ramirez hit a fly ball double to left that should have been caught but Toronto outfielder Steve Pearce lost it in the lights. He also singled up the middle.
Pedroia amps up
The Red Sox plan to give Dustin Pedroia a challenging test tomorrow, increasing the intensity in which he runs the bases as he works back from a sore left knee.
Whether the second baseman might be available to be activated this weekend when rosters expand is still unsettled.
“We’ll probably have a better read on that after Wednesday’s work here,” said Farrell.
It still seems as though centerfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. (thumb sprain) should be ready to go when he’s eligible to be activated on Saturday.
Rosters expand Friday and the Red Sox will likely call up a group of players from Triple-A Pawtucket, then a second wave later in the month.
Catcher Blake Swihart is one player the Sox plan to add, Farrell said. Swihart hit .183 with a .568 OPS in the minors this year.
Still in center field
The original plan with Andrew Benintendi was to keep him in center field until Bradley returned. The idea, though, Farrell said, was to keep Benintendi more comfortable in left, where he’s played since being called up to the majors last season. He was again in center in Toronto last night. Brock Holt was in left.
Benintendi will play center field “just in the bigger ballpark,” the manager said. “The wall in left (at Fenway Park) is the primary reason he stays in left there on days that Rajai Davis is on the field. And I will say, tomorrow and the next day with a couple lefthanders, Rajai is probably going to be in left field here because that’s his area of most comfort. Feel like Benny’s range in center field plays well there in addition to that.
“As much as you try to refrain from bouncing guys back and forth, this is a unique set-up with the wall in Fenway.” . . .
Doug Fister received a “notable performance” commendation from MLB during its announcement of the American League player of the week for posting a 1.69 ERA over 16 innings in two starts.