Sparkle of hidden gem with Brasier
BALTIMORE — The turning point to preserving a Red Sox victory in Chris Sale’s return to the mound yesterday came in the sixth inning, when Ryan Brasier was called in to relieve Tyler Thornburg, who loaded the bases with two outs.
Brasier, who did not sign until early March and was not called up to the Red Sox until early July, trotted in and went to battle with Orioles cleanup hitter Trey Mancini, looking to protect a 2-0 lead.
Brasier threw five 95-97 mph fastballs in a row before throwing a slider in the dirt, then two more fastballs before striking out Mancini on a slider on the ninth pitch of the at-bat.
“I thought if I could throw him a good one with all the fastballs that I was throwing him, that as long as I threw one around the plate I had a pretty good chance of getting a swing out of it,” said Brasier. “Whether he missed or not, I didn’t know if that was going to happen.”
He did miss, and Brasier preserved the 2-0 lead with a pumped fist as the Sox went on to a 4-1 victory and a fourgame sweep of the O’s
“That slider struck me out, too,” said Sale. “Not only today but what he’s been all year. It’s hard to think that he was in Japan last year, basically in their minor league system. He’s got an incredible arm, unbelievable stuff.
“Kudos to our scouting department and not only that but (manager Alex Cora), he saw him in spring training and used him in spring, saw what he had to offer and here he is now. He’s a big key to our bullpen and he features some pretty good stuff, so we like it when he’s in there.”
Closer Craig Kimbrel came into the game in the ninth with a 4-1 lead. For the first time in his last three appearances, he did not allow a run. He did put two runners on with just one out, but he struck out the pinch-hitter Mark Trumbo to end it.
Rotation changes
Starter Brian Johnson was used for an inning of relief (one strikeout, one walk, no runs in the seventh). That means his potential start in Philadelphia tomorrow was pushed back to the home opener against the Rays on Friday.
Rick Porcello will start tomorrow’s game against the Phillies, with Nate Eovaldi going in the second game Wednesday. David Price will pitch Saturday, with Sale going on Sunday . ...
Yesterday Sale struck out 12 in five innings, the 11th time this season he’s had at least 10 strikeouts. In his last seven starts, he has an 0.20 ERA, the lowest for any Red Sox pitcher since 1913. He has not allowed a run since July 6 in Kansas City, a stretch of 28 scoreless innings . ...
Steve Pearce’s home run in the first inning was his sixth since joining the team on June 28 . ...
Jackie Bradley Jr. drove in a run in the ninth. He has 18 RBI in his last 24 games . ...
With 42 games to go, the odds are very much in favor of the 85-35 Red Sox breaking the franchise record for wins of 105, set in 1946. All they have to do is play .500 ball and go 21-21 in order to finish with 106 wins.
The Sox are now 10-0-2 in their last 12 series, and have a dozen sweeps on the season.
X-rays negative on X
Xander Bogaerts once again hurt a finger on his left hand because of a head-first slide. The latest injury occurred Saturday night when Bogaerts slid into third base and jammed his left pinky. X-rays were negative but it provided Cora with a good reason to keep Bogaerts out of the starting lineup.
“He played three (games) in less than 24 hours,” said Cora. “He can play, we talked about it yesterday, he fought it, I said, ‘No, we’ll give you another day off so you can have two.’ It’s just a matter of taking care of the players.”
Cora said Bogaerts does not like to wear the protective “oven mitt.” Considering the oven mitt failed to keep Christian Vazquez from fracturing his pinky finger, Cora does not seem to feel Bogaerts needs to use one.
“I don’t know how that works, honestly. It didn’t work for Christian; I don’t know,” said Cora.
Vazquez, in Fort Myers, will begin throwing for the first time when he joins the team in Boston on Friday.
Needed rest day
Left fielder Andrew Benintendi also got the start off, after he reported “heavy” legs after playing all three games on the artificial turf in Toronto.
Cora did not start Benintendi in the second game of the doubleheader, so he could have roughly 21⁄2 games off before the game in Philadelphia tomorrow.
The morning after, Cora wondered why he felt the need to pinch-hit Benintendi in the ninth inning when the Red Sox held a two-run lead. Benintendi hit in the catcher’s spot, so Cora never intended Benintendi to go to the outfield. Yet he got Benintendi back up on those heavy legs.
“After I pinch-hit him, I was like ‘What am I doing?’” said Cora. “But whatever. They were giving me a hard time. He had a 10-game hitting streak. I killed it. So he was, what, 46 away from (Joe DiMaggio)? . . .
Second baseman Ian Kinsler (hamstring) will not rejoin the team in Philadelphia, but will instead continue his rehab in Lowell on Sunday and Tuesday.