Southpaw silver lining
Johnson, Pomeranz mop up OK
On a night of costly Red Sox pitching in an 8-0 loss to the Mets, two former southpaw starters fared well in relief: Brian Johnson and Drew Pomeranz.
Johnson went 42⁄3 innings, allowing one run on a home run before settling in and striking out four. He entered the game with the bases loaded and one out and got a double play grounder to end the third.
“Obviously coming I was just trying to come in, get a groundball double play — it worked out,” said Johnson. “Tried to keep us in the game.
“I knew I had to eat up some innings there and that’s what I tried to do out there.”
Johnson’s relief appearance was the longest of his career and in his last 14 games out of the bullpen, he has a 1.99 ERA.
Pomeranz pitched the final 11⁄3 innings, and allowed one hit, no walks or runs and struck out two.
“It looked like his arm was quicker, a lot quicker,” said manager Alex Cora. “He threw that fastball up and in to strike a righty out which was a good pitch. The breaking ball was OK. … He did a good job.”
The Red Sox had to scratch Hector Velazquez from the start, replacing him with William Cuevas.
“He was feeling ill the last two days,” Cora said. “We sent him home (Thursday) early, hoping that he was going to get a good night’s sleep, get some rest, and be ready for (last night). He called me in the morning, he didn’t feel that way. He felt weak. We’re going to stay away from him. We actually sent him home already and we’re going with William.”
Cuevas lasted two-plus innings in his first career start, allowing three hits and two runs while striking out four.
Sale silence
Initial word on how Chris Sale’s bullpen went before the game was not available. Sale is on tap to start tomorrow, assuming he does not have more irritation in his left shoulder. …
After re-aggravating his knee Thursday, Eduardo Nunez was on the bench for the series opener. Cora sounded as if there would be a chance that he could play during the weekend.
“Eddie’s good, he’s going to get some treatment,” Cora said. “If everything goes well, probably go through a workout (today), hopefully he’ll play (tomorrow). If not, we’ll take advantage of the weekend and Monday and he’ll be back on Tuesday.” …
Matt Barnes (hip) threw a live bullpen yesterday and “everything went well,” Cora said. If he recovers well, he is scheduled to throw another live bullpen tomorrow.
Porcello cameo
Rick Porcello will pitch this afternoon on an extra day’s rest but he still will be asked to have a shorter than normal start, part of the team’s plan to keep all its pitchers as fresh as possible heading into the playoffs.
“Very similar to what we did with (Eduardo Rodriguez Thursday) — five or six (innings), regardless of the pitch count,” Cora said. “I think that’ll be good for him. I was actually shooting for (pitching Porcello tomorrow) but I forgot we had to keep the other guy (Sale) on schedule. We’ll see how we go through the week, where we’re at and hopefully we can give him one extra day, hopefully two, and that’ll be good for him.”
Porcello likely has three starts left in his season. At 1791⁄3 innings, it looks likely he will not be able to crack the 200-inning plateau.
Porcello did not want to start looking too far ahead.
“I feel like it’s way too early to start reflecting on things — we still have 15 games left,” Porcello said. “I still have things I want to accomplish personally and for our team. It’s too early to reflect, there’s still a lot that needs to be done. When that’s done, then we’ll reflect on it.”
Hardware given
The Red Sox announced their minor league accolades and their current reliever, Ryan Brasier, was named the recipient of the Lou Gorman Award, given annually to the player who “demonstrated dedication and perseverance in overcoming obstacles while working his way to the major league team.”
Brasier made his big league debut with the Angels in 2013, six years after he was drafted but then underwent Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2014. He spent two years in the A’s minor league system before playing in Japan and then finally getting a tryout and then minor league deal with the Red Sox this spring.
Since being called up on July 8, Brasier has stayed in the majors and has been one of the Sox’ top relievers, with 22 of his 27 appearances scoreless and recording 0.88 WHIP and 1.65 ERA.
“Since he’s been here, he’s been amazing,” Cora said. “To be a big leaguer, that’s hard enough. But to overcome injuries and go through his journey, going to Japan and then being able to come back to the states — well, not by choice (Japan) I guess — and then all of the sudden you send an email to 30 teams and a handful answer and one at the end he signed with somebody, that’s amazing. You could write a book. Honestly, we’re very proud of him. He’s very quiet in the clubhouse but when he gets on the mound that fastball is loud and you see him get better and better with that fastball which is great.”
Other winners were third baseman Bobby Dalbec as both offensive and defensive player of the year; righthander Denyi Reyes (pitcher of the year); infielder-outfielder Kervin Suarez (baserunner of the year); outfielder Gilberto Jimenez (Latin Program position player of the year) and right-hander Miguel Suero (Latin Program pitcher of the year).
Dinger day
The Red Sox allowed four home runs last night, their most surrendered since Aug. 2, when the Yankees hit four. They were shut out for the seventh time this season. The eight-run losing margin tied their largest margin of defeat, also 8-0 in Chicago on Sept. 2.
Ian Kinsler went 2-for-3 with a pair of stolen bases. He is hitting .327 (18-for-55) over his last 15 games.