Devers’ injury wins out
Sore shoulder lands 3B on DL
The All-Star break is coming at a most convenient time for the beat-up Red Sox.
Rafael Devers is the latest player to hit the disabled list when the Sox placed the third baseman on the 10-day DL yesterday due to left shoulder inflammation. The team recalled Tzu-Wei Lin from Triple-A Pawtucket to add infield depth.
The 21-year-old Devers has been playing hurt for the better part of a month. He hurt himself sliding back to first base during a road series with the Seattle Mariners on July 14-17 and tried playing through it.
“I didn’t say anything, I just kept playing through it and progressively it just got worse,” Devers said. “I wanted to keep playing, to help the team, but then eventually I just got to a point where I asked the trainers what they thought and they suggested that it would be best to take some time.”
Devers is hoping to be back in 10 days.
“I think I’m just going to do the best I can to recover in these 10 days and be back by, I think, the second game in Detroit (next week),” he said. “Thankfully, the results of the MRI didn’t show anything too grave and it’s just a little inflammation. It’s something that can heal.”
Alex Cora said the team was aware of Devers’ injury. He was getting treatment, but Devers never said he wasn’t fit enough to play. His desire to play through pain was appreciated by the Sox manager.
“It’s been going on for a while, that’s why I’m proud of him, for a kid who’s 21 and never used that as an excuse,” Cora said. “That tells me a lot about him. He was able to handle it. But there are certain guys who come out right away. So for him it’s about playing and contributing and he was.”
It wasn’t until the Sox noticed Devers’ swing begin to change that his injury became a concern.
“If changing your swing is bothering you defensively, we’ve got the All-Star Game and we’ve got those days, this is a perfect time (to rest),” Cora said.
It was a bit of a learning experience for Devers, who made his big league debut last year and hadn’t been hurt in the major leagues until now.
“First season, I wanted to keep playing no matter what,” he said. “But then it gets to a point where you can’t bear it and you start to think that for one’s career, it’s best to talk about it and let people know. So that’s just what I did.”
Devers is hitting .279 with a .789 OPS in his last 22 games, but just .241 with a .715 OPS on the season.
Eduardo Nunez will fill in for Devers at third base, Nunez’ most natural position, Cora said.
Rotation matters
Chris Sale may start the All-Star Game on Tuesday — Astros manager A.J. Hinch has final say — and the left-hander will stay on normal rest coming out of the break.
David Price, who got the win in last night’s 6-4 win over Toronto, will start the first game next Friday, whoever the fifth starter is (Brian Johnson, if healthy) will start the second game a week from Saturday and Sale starts the third game that Sunday.
“We split David and Chris,” Cora said. “We split them up. We got Rick Porcello right after Sale. That was probably the reasoning. Just keeping that order.”
More bullpen prep
Before saving a 4-2 win with four straight strikeouts on Wednesday night, Craig Kimbrel walked in a run with the bases loaded in the eighth inning.
Cora didn’t want to use Kimbrel in that situation, but had nobody else ready.
“I hate to put him in that corner,” said Cora, who used Kimbrel last night for his 28th save of the season. “Talked to (pitching coach Dana LeVangie) afterward, it just happened so quick with Rougned Odor swinging on the first pitch and hitting that ground ball. But I wanted to give him margin for error. Although I did, I’d rather have the tying run at the plate or the on-deck circle. It just so happened that everything happened so quick with the swing. I have to be prepared for that one.”
Ratings binge
NESN announced that Wednesday’s game generated an 8.7 rating in Boston, the second-highest all year. The April 10 game against the Yankees drew a 9.1 rating. An 8.7 rating is equivalent to about 587,000 viewers. Overall this year, NESN said it has a 6.23 household rating, up 20 percent compared to 2017 . . . .
Fenway Park will host a movie night on Tuesday, Aug. 14. The 1993 blockbuster “Jurassic Park” will be shown on the videoboard in center field. The event is free for season ticket-holders and costs $10 for adults and $5 for kids.
Tony C smudged
Tony Conigliaro is always spoken of highly around Fenway Park, but there was a momentary lapse in judgment last night when a sign featuring Conigliaro’s bruised face from his 1967 beaning was placed on a broken elevator.
The sign read, “Elevator out of order, we apologize for the inconvenience.”
Tony C was an elite player before he got hit in the eye by a pitch that ended up derailing his career.
A Red Sox spokesman said the club was investigating and the sign was “unsanctioned” and “wrongly put up.”