Eovaldi gets Game 4 start
Eduardo Rodriguez is staying in the bullpen.
Yesterday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced that Nathan Eovaldi would be the team’s starter for a potential Game 4 of the Division Series against the Yankees.
Chris Sale will pitch in Game 1 tonight, David Price in Game 2 tomorrow and
Rick Porcello in Game 3 on Monday.
The Sox were debating between Eovaldi and Rodriguez for Game 4, but Eovaldi has thrown 16 innings without allowing an earned run against the Yankees since the Red Sox acquired him from the Rays before the trade deadline.
Eovaldi will likely be available out of the bullpen tonight.
Rodriguez should be in the bullpen all series, and the left-hander looked strong in that role in the season’s final week, allowing three runs in 61⁄3 innings, striking out nine.
The Red Sox won’t release their final ALDS roster until today.
“I think as far as the fan bases, they were looking forward to this,” Cora said. “It should be fun.”
The Sox lost four of the last six games against the Yankees, though Cora put no stock in those results given the Sox had already locked up the division and home-field advantage by the time the final series was played.
“We were dying to turn the page,” Cora said. “It felt awkward playing them here, the last one, because we already clinched everything. It was just about staying healthy and getting your repetitions and move on.
“They are playing great. They swung the bats well. You know how I feel about them, keeping the ball in the ballpark. They’ve been hitting the ball out of the ballpark for a while . . . . We play these guys so much, we’re pretty familiar with what they do. The same with us. There’s no secrets, I think. At the end of the day, I know it sounds boring, whatever, whoever plays better defense and executes better pitches and gets clutch hits is going to win the series.”
Happ tough matchup
Red Sox hitters will have their hands full tonight with Yankees left-hander J.A. Happ being on the mound.
Of the nine players expected to be in the Sox lineup, Steve Pearce has six career homers off Happ, while Mookie Betts and Ian Kinsler each have two. Nobody else has homered off him.
Against Happ, Betts is hitting .206, Andrew Benintendi .111, Pearce .344, J.D. Martinez .200, Xander Bogaerts .161, Kinsler .259, Eduardo Nunez .258, Jackie Bradley Jr. .150 and Sandy Leon .100.
“We scored four the last inning we played against him; let’s use that,” Cora joked.
Pearce said he’ll try to share knowledge of his success with the team.
“We talk about it,” he said. “I’ll give my advice to anyone who needs it.”
Sale said he didn’t envy Happ, who will have to face Betts as the leadoff guy.
“Right out of the gate you have to have your stuff together facing our lineup,” Sale said. “He’s definitely been our spark plug. When you’re facing Mookie Betts the first batter of the game, that’s a tough role. And it really doesn’t get any easier after that. So he’s put himself in a different category, I think, and people had some things to say last year, and I think that’s done with now.”
Wild time together
The Red Sox took live batting practice off Drew Pomeranz, Bobby Poyner and Hector Velazquez yesterday.
“Seeing pitching, seeing the delivery and getting your timing, trying to stay sharp,” Pearce said. “We’ve had a lot of time off. It was good to get out there and knock the rust off.”
The Yankees didn’t arrive until about 5 p.m. after coming in from New York following their wild card win on Wednesday.
The Red Sox watched that game together at dinner in Boston.
“It was cool when you have all the big leaguers watching a baseball game,” Cora said. “From the home run (by Aaron Judge) in the first inning, everyone was like, ‘woah!’ You look at a few things. It’s different when you are sitting there and you have all the guys and you can point out a few things. But it was fun. It was very relaxing. It was great to be around each other.
“Hopefully we can do it a few more times in October, get together.”
Sale: Bradley golden
Gold Glove awards won’t be released until the offseason, but Sale said Bradley better finally win one.
“Jackie’s defense, the last year I think he should have won the Gold Glove,” Sale said. “This year if he doesn’t, there’s a flaw in the system. He’s as good as it gets. Us as pitchers we say it all the time, it feels like we’re playing with four ßoutfielders. The range, the ability that he can put his head down and pick up the ball, his awareness of the field is second to none.”