Smith just getting started
Carson Smith is back, but that doesn’t mean the Red Sox have another set-up man.
Manager John Farrell joked that Smith would be the new 18th-inning guy after Smith’s work in Tuesday’s 19-inning win over Toronto. Fresh off 15 months recovering from Tommy John surgery, Smith flashed an average velocity of 92 mph on his sinker — just a tick below his career average — and a slick slider.
The Red Sox were encouraged, but Smith is likely to slowly be worked into the bullpen in low-leverage situations.
“It was good stuff, it was consistent with what he had shown on rehab. And to me that’s the most encouraging thing,” said Farrell. “But there are also parameters on his usage, and the rest he needs, that is going to be factored in.”
It was just the fourth time Smith — who finished the 2015 season in Seattle as closer — has pitched in a Red Sox uniform after undergoing Tommy John last May.
“I’ve been in close games before, I haven’t forgotten how to pitch,” Smith said. “I’m a competitive guy. I was just excited to get back out there.
“I think I definitely appreciated it. It didn’t really hit me until I started running in to pitch. I’ve thrown pitches in that bullpen this year already, but once going back out on the mound, entering in the game, it definitely hit me.”
Smith has almost a month to prove himself if he’s going to be on a Red Sox playoff roster, but he’s expected to be a key contributor in 2018 regardless.
“I think it’s not farfetched to say that after a full offseason of a normal recovery time and the buildup toward spring training, we would see increased arm strength,” Farrell said. “That’s a pretty normal progression.”
Bradley’s in-between
Jackie Bradley Jr. is 3-for19 since returning from the disabled list, but his defense hasn’t slumped. Bradley’s cannon to gun down Jose Bautista at home saved the go-ahead run from scoring on Tuesday, and he nearly got Ryan Goins trying to tag up to third on a fly ball to medium right-center on Wednesday.
“I had a pretty good grip,” he said. “I just wish I had put it more on line.”
Bradley “snapped out” of a funk with a two-run homer during the game, said Farrell, noting how good it was to see him “drive the baseball like that.”
It’ll be interesting to see how Bradley’s second year of arbitration goes in the winter.
He’s making $3.6 million in this, his first arbitration year, and all his numbers have taken a small step back. His OPS has dropped from .835 to .762, though he’s once again been a force in center field.
The Red Sox are 43-10 in Bradley’s career when he hits a home run, and 100-38 when he drives in a run.
Rest for weary
An off day couldn’t have come at a more perfect time for the Red Sox, whose 19th straight game without a day off went 19 innings and nearly six hours.
Farrell tried giving his team a half-day off on Wednesday, when he told them not to report to the field until 4:30 p.m. for a 7 p.m. game.
“Maybe an hour and a half later than I normally would report,” Bradley said.
The Sox did not take batting practice on the field. They went almost a week without taking outside batting practice earlier this year and it’s something Farrell likes to do to occasionally give his team extra rest.
Bradley, Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi have all played 1,000 innings in the outfield this year. Betts leads all outfielders with 1,226 played on defense, and he leads all position players with 633 plate appearances.