Sox have questions to answer
The Red Sox are 101⁄2 games ahead of the Yankees with about six weeks to play, which should present them a narrow window to experiment with things on the field.
They did it Wednesday night in Philadelphia when manager Alex Cora wanted to see if Drew Pomeranz was ready for high-leverage innings in relief. Pomeranz had thrown two scoreless outings after going from the rotation to the bullpen, but Wednesday’s outing was a disaster. He gave up three runs in a one-run game and the Sox’ lost, 7-4.
There’s no American League team within a 10-game sniffing distance of knocking the Red Sox down from the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, so why not try a few things?
Here’s some other questions they should answer before their first postseason game:
• Will Craig Kimbrel be effective over multiple innings?
Kimbrel has been called on in the eighth inning six times this year. All six times, he’s allowed at least one baserunner. He’s given up multiple runs in two of the six outings.
Generally he’s been worse in outings when he gets to the 18-pitch mark. He’s allowed runs in eight of his 22 outings when throwing at least 18 pitches.
Most elite relievers tend to extend themselves for multiple innings in the postseason, but the Sox may want to avoid that with Kimbrel unless he shows he’s capable of it before the season is over.
• Who will be Kimbrel’s set-up man?
Matt Barnes has quietly been one of the most improved players on the team this season. His WHIP dropped from 1.22 to 1.14, his ERA from 3.88 to 2.60 and his hit rate from 7.4 per nine innings to 5.7. But the Sox will have to watch his workload down the stretch. He’s allowed runs in three of his last four outings and pitched on three straight days last weekend in Baltimore.
Joe Kelly and Tyler Thornburg continue to be inconsistent. Ryan Brasier has been dominant despite his lack of experience. Cora turned to Heath Hembree to lock down the eighth inning in the Sox’ win over the Phillies on Tuesday when Barnes was unavailable.
• Who is the No. 2 starter?
Rick Porcello has yet to give the Sox a good start in a playoff game, throwing just one quality start in four tries in his career and that was in 2011 for the Tigers. But he’s been the most consistent and trustworthy starter behind Chris Sale, providing length while giving the Sox a high level of confidence playing behind him (a 17-8 record in his starts).
It will likely be a matter of matchups combined with recent performance that leads Cora to make a decision on his No. 2 starter in the Division Series.
Nathan Eovaldi has performed well in three of his four starts with the team, and David Price has been gaining some momentum of late, though he has a well-known track record of crumbling in playoff starts.
Given that Price was incredibly effective out of the bullpen last year, would Cora want to use him as a multiple-inning lefty in relief?
Eduardo Rodriguez is a sleeper pick for the No. 2 spot. He had thrown 17 straight scoreless innings before his ankle injury and is due back in the next few weeks.
• Who is the best option at catcher?
The Red Sox are 28-3 in Sandy Leon’s last 31 games as the starting catcher, a stat that hasn’t been lost on Cora, who believes the record has a lot to do with Leon’s ability to call a game and connect with the pitcher on the mound. Leon’s bat has been getting better, too.
Blake Swihart was hitting well before a hamstring injury put him on the disabled list (he returned this week), and Christian Vazquez isn’t due back from a pinky injury until September.
Leon is prone to long slumps at the plate, but the Sox’ top-ranked offense isn’t exactly in dire need of more production from the bottom of the order. Leon would seem like the favorite.
• Who is best at second base?
Ian Kinsler is expected to return from a hamstring injury today and will likely play three out of every four games for the time being. He flashed great range and solid glove work before his injury, and he’s traditionally been a lefty masher throughout his career.
Both Eduardo Nunez and Brock Holt have hit well since the All-Star break, and this competition could go right down to the wire.
• Will J.D. Martinez hit third or fourth?
Martinez was hitting third regularly until August when Cora moved him to the cleanup spot. The Sox are 40-14 when he hits third, 42-19 when he hits fourth. Martinez’ numbers are just as good from either spot.
It’s more a question if the Sox want to get him as many at-bats as possible. The average No. 3 hitter in baseball gets 4.2 plate appearances per game this year; the average four-hitter gets 4.09. The difference amounts to about one fewer at bat every nine games.
One extra swing from Martinez could mean everything in a close seven-game series.