Barnes hits broadside Off to a hot start
Reliever finds that location tops speed
MIAMI — Matt Barnes hasn’t touched 100 mph since 2016, but he doesn’t need triple digits when he’s locating the way he has early this season.
With his high-90s fastball, Barnes has been excellent through the first six games, even though he blew a save chance in last night’s 4-2 victory against the Marlins. He’s pitched important innings in four of those games and has allowed just one hit. He’s walked four and struck out four.
“One thing about him, his last spring training outing against the Cubs, there was an adjustment there and it was tempo,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “He’s grabbing the ball and getting back to the mound. It’s a lot quicker now. He used to be very slow, take his time. He’s on top of the hitter now. I like that adjustment. He looks like a different pitcher now than what he was earlier in camp.”
Barnes is averaging 27.4 seconds between pitches this year after averaging 29.6 seconds between pitches in 2017, according to FanGraphs.
Joe Kelly and Carson Smith are still finding their groove, but Barnes is looking like the most trusted set-up guy early on.
“I feel those guys can get outs in any situation,” Cora said. “We go through lineups, see who matches up well with the opposition and we go from there.”
Mookie’s turn to sit
Mookie Betts was off last night and did not play.
“Not good for fantasy teams,” joked Cora.
Betts had played in five straight games and each of the regulars, except the red-hot Xander Bogaerts, has had a day off already.
Keeping players fresh and well-rested has been a priority for Cora and that probably won’t change this weekend, when the manager is considering keeping his rotation in order and not pitching Chris Sale again until Tuesday.
Sale started last night’s game against Miami. His next regular turn would pop up on Sunday at home against the Tampa Bay Rays. But Cora said that, even though the decision isn’t final, it’s likely Sale will be pushed back until Tuesday, giving him two days extra rest and setting him up to start the first game of the season against the Yankees.
“It’s not about saving him for the Yankees series,” Cora said. “It’s just seeing where we’re at. There are a few options available for that Sunday game and he’s one of them. But if we took care of him from the beginning of spring training, whenever we have a window we will probably take advantage of it.
“Most likely, we will — I’m not saying we will, but we’re going to revisit that. It seems like it might be that way. We will give him the days off, push him back, he’ll get his rest and we’ll start him Tuesday.”
Sale entered with a 1.81 ERA in 25 career starts with extra rest and the Sox are putting an emphasis on saving his bullets for late fall.
Either Brian Johnson (six innings, one run his first time out) or Hector Velazquez (52⁄3 innings, one run) is likely to start Sunday, instead of Sale.
Eduardo Rodriguez, on the disabled list, also could start. He threw six innings in a minor league game yesterday.
“He texted me, he said he ‘dominated,’ ” Cora said. “It’s amazing how these guys dominate on all these starts and how great they feel . ... But he’s on his way here. We’ll see how he reacts tomorrow.”
Manager is proud
Hanley Ramirez’ video went viral yesterday, when he posted footage of himself giving an autographed jersey to a sick child after the Sox’ 7-3 win Monday against the Marlins. His manager said that’s not out of character.
“He loves kids,” Cora said. “He’s always around them . ... He’s a great guy. You see the way he plays, the way he goes about his business. Sometimes you have this bad impression of him. But as a person he’s great. He’s very open and what he did yesterday, I heard about it afterward. That’s amazing. We have a lot of those guys here. He does care, just like Chris Sale and Rick Porcello when we went home (to deliver supplies to Puerto Rico). These guys get it. I’m very proud to be their manager.”
The Sox have a scheduled off day on Friday for the first time since 2012, when they opened on a Thursday and had the next day off . . . .
The Red Sox starters began the year with a 0.90 ERA through five games, the club’s third-lowest starter ERA through five games since 1919. The 1988 San Francisco Giants and 1943 St. Louis Cardinals are the only other teams since 1908 to start a year with five straight starters who allowed one run or none, according to Elias Sports.