Despite slump, Betts won’t sit
Farrell not going same route as X, Benny
NEW YORK — The past two games, Red Sox manager John Farrell benched shortstop Xander Bogaerts so that he can work in the cage, get treatment on his sore hand and try to reset following a prolonged slump.
It’s worth wondering whether he’s considered something similar with Mookie Betts.
In his past 26 games, Betts hit .216 with no home runs. He had 16 home runs at the All-Star break, but he’s homered only twice since then.
“I know Mookie continues to work at trying to gain some consistency in terms of timing at the plate,” Farrell said.
“There’s, at times, pitches we’ve seen in the past where he’s turned on the ball a little bit more. That might not be there right now, but still, key component to our offense. And there’s a number of guys that fall into that same category.”
Betts has drawn 15 walks and stolen five bases during his most recent slide, and Fan Graphs still credits him with the most defensive runs saved in baseball. He was 1-for-3 with an infield single in the 5-1 loss to the Yankees yesterday.
“Just kind of going along with the ride,” Betts said. “Just doing what I can to help the team win and that’s all I’m focused on.”
Although Bogaerts was held out of the lineup following a .205 average in his past 42 games, and Andrew Benintendi was held out of two games following a bad month of July, Farrell said he does not plan to do the same with Betts.
“I haven’t gone to that point,” he said. “He impacts the game so many different ways, and the defensive side of it is a key component to it, and when he does get on base, he’s a threat obviously. Been a major player for us.”
Pedey, Bogaerts in tonight
After Friday night’s return to the Red Sox lineup, Dustin Pedroia showed up at Yankee Stadium yesterday feeling ready to go again. But the Red Sox wouldn’t risk a day game after a night game, so Pedroia sat. He will play in tonight’s series finale.
Beyond that, his workload will depend on the way he feels day by day.
“He came out of (Friday) night in good shape,” Farrell said. “So … he’s got a smile on his face that he hasn’t had for quite some time. We’ll build it out to nine innings and monitor it from there.”
Bogaerts is also scheduled to be back in the lineup tonight when the teams meet for the final time in the regular season.
“Another work day,” Farrell said. “Another day to kind of settle in and get some treatment on some things that he’s been ailing with.”
Smith’s role unclear
The Red Sox are finally on the verge of putting Carson Smith back in their bullpen. Whether that actually means anything remains to be seen.
Expected to be a key set-up man, Smith has instead missed most of two seasons while recovering from Tommy John surgery. His rehab hit multiple setbacks this year, but he’s generally pitched well during 10 minor league rehab outings.
He’ll pitch in one more Triple-A game today before joining the Red Sox tomorrow.
“But he’ll come back to us, and we’ll see what kind of role (he) will settle into,” Farrell said. “He’s been on such a regiment of work schedule there. That’s going to be a little bit unrealistic to replicate that here. He feels good physically and we’ll find how we can use him and contribute.”
Acquired in a December 2015 trade with the Mariners, Smith was supposed to be a key reliever but had surgery after only three games last season. The Red Sox might not get their money’s worth until next year, his third with the team.
“The sink, the action to the slider, has been consistent with presurgery,” Farrell said. “The velocity hasn’t come back yet, which, that’s totally expected on our part, and we won’t see that probably until he goes through a full offseason and gets back to spring training.”
Red-hot Ramirez moves up
Less than a week after a prolonged slump left him dropped to seventh in the order, Hanley Ramirez is back on a hot streak, and he was back up to the fifth spot yesterday. Ramirez had homered in three of his past four games, and he nearly homered again in the loss.
“He has swung the bat well in this last 7-to-10 days,” Farrell said. “Again, I think sometimes the spot in the lineup can be overplayed, but it was good to see him continually drive balls with hard contact, middle of the field, right-center. That’s when Hanley is at his best, we feel.”