Martinez back in the lineup
Barnes replaces Richards on roster
J.D. Martinez is back. After missing Tuesday’s Wild Card victory and Thursday’s Game 1 loss with a left ankle sprain, the designated hitter back for the Red Sox for Friday night’s Game 2, batting sixth as the DH.
RED SOX NOTEBOOK
The Red Sox waited as long as possible before deciding whether to start Martinez or not, but it was finally announced about an hour before game time after the team came off the field from batting practice.
Martinez injured his left ankle in the fifth inning of Sunday’s season finale victory over the Nationals when he slipped after stepping on second base on his way to play defense in right field, which Red Sox manager Alex Cora said is something he normally does. He played that inning but was then removed from the game.
Martinez was added to the Red Sox’ ALDS roster with the hope that he would play at some point in the series. He was available as a pinch hitter in Thursday’s loss and wasn’t used. But he was a full-go for Friday night, and it looked like his ankle was just fine. He went for 4-for-5 in the Red Sox’ 14-6 victory, including a tie-breaking three-run homer in the fifth inning.
Richards replaced on ALDS roster
Garrett Richards only tossed three pitches in Game 1 of the Division Series on Thursday night, but will not be throwing again this series.
Richards was removed from the Red Sox’ Division Series roster prior to Game 2 on Friday night due to a left hamstring strain.
To replace him on the roster, All-Star Matt Barnes was activated off the taxi squad.
Richards had been a nice weapon in relief since he was moved to the bullpen in mid-August, posting a 3.42 ERA and holding opponents to a .659 OPS in 26 1/3 innings.
He was the first pitcher called upon to replace starter Eduardo Rodriguez on Thursday and needed just three pitches to retire Randy Arozarena, who ended up being the star of the game.
But Richards never went back out for another inning and was replaced by Nick Pivetta.
Barnes was a surprise omission from the roster for this series, particularly with how well he’s pitched against the Rays over his career.
Current Rays hitters have just a .161 average against Barnes.
But the flame-throwing right-hander has struggled since the start of August, with a 9.26 ERA and 1.051 OPS against over 11 2/3 innings in that span.
If the Red Sox were to advance to the ALCS, Richards would not be eligible to pitch.
Is Devers hurt?
One big talking point of Thursday’s loss was the status of Rafael Devers, who appeared to be grimacing and favoring his right wrist/ forearm after several swings and misses. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that the Red Sox third baseman suffered an arm injury in Tuesday’s Wild Card win, but it’s not clear how.
Cora once again downplayed any discomfort Devers may be experiencing at the plate, saying again that it’s part of the wear and tear of playing a full season.
“Like I said, over 162 games you’re not going to be 100%,” Cora said. “He’s posting and that’s the most important thing. I don’t think everybody is 100% right now. They go through their day, they get treatment if they need to and they get ready to play the game and that’s where we’re at with everybody.”
Kiké finding himself again after slump
Kiké Hernandez hasn’t been quite the same at the plate since his return after testing positive for COVID-19.
After finding his groove as Cora’s leadoff man this summer, Hernandez’s two-week COVID stoppage seems to have sapped that momentum. In 22 games to finish the regular season following his return, Hernandez batted just .213 with a .665 OPS. He was 1-for-7 in two postseason games entering Friday. But that’s when it looked like he found something. Hernandez became the 10th player in postseason history to record a five-hit game in Friday’s win, going 5-for-6 with three doubles and a home run.
“It’s about controlling the strike zone,” Cora said. “When he is really good, really hot, he is not expanding in hitter’s counts. We knew that early in the season. We saw that, and sometimes he gets to 2-0, 3-1, and what do we want to do in those counts. Obviously he can do damage, but at the same time it has to be in certain areas. He cannot expand because if they throw a fastball, we’re going on swing at the fastball because it’s a fastball. There’s a lot of “fastballs” in that sentence.
“But just control the aggression. I think that’s the most important thing, and when he does that, that’s when he becomes dangerous.”
Odds & ends
Nathan Eovaldi will start Sunday’s Game 3 at Fenway Park. …
Pivetta, who pitched 4 2/3 innings of relief in Thursday’s loss, is still a candidate to start a potential Game 4 on Monday.