Eovaldi set for Game 3
Will face Severino as Red Sox provide Porcello extra rest
NEW YORK — The Red Sox will start right-hander Nathan Eovaldi rather than Rick Porcello against the Yankees in Game 3 of the AL Division Series on Monday night.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said he made the decision because Porcello pitched two-thirds of an inning of relief in Friday night’s opener, and he wanted to give him an extra day of rest.
Porcello is now scheduled to pitch Game 4 on Tuesday night.
Eovaldi was 3-3 with a 3.33 ERA in 11 starts and one relief appearance for the Red Sox, who acquired him from the Rays in July. The 28-year- old, who throws at 97-98 mph, allowed no earned runs in three of four starts this year against the Yankees. He pitched for the Yankees in 2015 and ’16 before injuring his elbow, which required a second Tommy John surgery.
The Yankees will start Luis Severino in Game 3, followed by CC Sabathia.
The best-of-five series is tied 1-1 after the Yankees got two home runs from Gary Sanchez to pace a 6-2 victory Saturday night in Game 2. The catcher had tested manager Aaron Boone’s confidence with a sub-.200 batting average and poor defense for most of the season.
“Just a monster night,” Boone said. “You know he’s capable of that. We all know he’s capable of that. That’s kind of what we’ve been waiting for to some degree, where he can take over a game on offense.”
One night after Chris Sale earned his first career playoff victory, David Price Nathan Eovaldi, who will start Game 3 for the Red Sox, answers questions during a news conference Sunday. Series tied 1-1 G1: Red Sox 5, Yankees 4 G2: Yankees 6, Red Sox 2 G3: Red Sox (Eovaldi) at Yankees (Severino) 7:40 p.m. Monday, TBS G4: Red Sox (Porcello) at Yankees (Sabathia) 8:07 p.m. Tuesday, TBS G5: Yankees at Red Sox 7:40 p.m. Thursday, TBS Game 5 if necessary fell to 0-9 in 10 postseason starts and was booed off the field after five outs by a Fenway Park crowd hoping to see the Red Sox protect the home-field advantage they earned with an AL East title and franchiserecord 108 wins.
Instead, Masahiro Tanaka helped the wild-card Yankees claim the first victory by a road team in a division series game this year and gave them a chance to advance to the AL Championship Series with two wins at home, where they are 7-0 over the last two postseasons.
Games 3 and 4 are at Yankee Stadium on Monday and Tuesday nights, with Game 5 back in Boston on Thursday, if necessary.
“We can’t wait,” said Aaron Judge, who homered for the third straight playoff game when he cranked a long drive off Price. “We know our fans are waiting for us to come back home, especially with the series tied 1-1.”
Sanchez joined Yogi Berra as the only catchers in Yankees history with multiple-homer postseason games.
“Everybody knows that Judge has way more power than me,” Sanchez said. “But a homer is a homer. And if we have the opportunity to score runs like that, you know, even if it’s 300 feet, I’ll take it.”
Sanchez poked a threerun shot in the seventh inning completely out of Fenway. He also hit a solo shot in the second.