Mound visit for the Angels’ ace
Ohtani likely to make Fenway pitching debut on Thursday
The Red Sox have been crushed by Shohei Ohtani from the batter’s box. They’ll get a look at him from the pitcher’s mound this week.
The Angels’ two-way superstar, who’s nursing a minor groin injury, will pitch Thursday against the Red Sox at Fenway Park as long as he continues to feel good, according to manager Joe Maddon. Ohtani, who came off the bench as a pinch-hitter Monday, was back in Los Angeles’ lineup, batting third as the designated hitter, on Tuesday.
Ohtani has had plenty of success against the Red Sox at the plate — which included a game-winning homer in an Angels win at Fenway last season — but he has never pitched against the Sox at Fenway.
The reigning American League MVP, Ohtani has taken baseball by storm over the last couple of years, and there was even more media than usual on hand Tuesday for his return to Boston. Red Sox manager Alex Cora made no secret Tuesday about how much he admires the two-way sensation.
“With all due respect to all the athletes in baseball, he’s by far the best athlete we have,” Cora said. “You’ve seen his progression, and the way he’s been able to adjust. And to be successful on both sides of the ball is impressive. I don’t even know what his preparation is as far as physically What he has to do to be an elite pitcher, an elite hitter, the mental side of it, scouting report wise how long it takes for him to be ready for us on the mound and be ready for us at the plate, it has to be impressive. I know how much time it takes for us to get ready for a series, and he has to do that as a player twice.
“So, he’s been great for the game. It seems like he has a great personality. He has embraced his stage, his platform, the right way. And it’s been great just to see him from afar. With that, I had to see him when we played. Hopefully we can get him out.”
Who’s at catcher?
Kevin Plawecki started at catcher instead of Christian Vázquez, the backup’s seventh start of the season. The Red Sox haven’t got much offensive production from catcher this season, ranking 25th in baseball with a .467 OPS entering Tuesday, so Cora is exploring matchups.
“We look for certain matchups that we can maximize,” Cora said. “Plaw is a good offensive player, just like Christian is, so we’ll take it day by day.”
Though he leads the majors with six runners caught stealing, Vázquez has struggled offensively to start the season, slashing .220/.241/.300 with a .541 OPS in 54 plate appearances. That has been maximized with some mental mistakes on the bases, including when he lost track of the number of outs and cost the Red Sox a run on Sunday. But Cora believes the catcher is coming around at the plate.
“I think, swing-wise, Sunday was his best game,” Cora said. “He was staying inside the ball, he was shooting the ball the other way. He was swinging at strikes. Early on, he was chasing pitches up in the zone and swinging and missing at a lot of fastballs up. But if we’re going to talk about his swing, actually Sunday was his best one. To be able to drive the ball the other way, hit line drives the other way, I always say, that’s his forte.”
Odds & ends
Chris Sale is continuing to throw short bullpens in his recovery from a fractured rib cage. Because he’s on the 60-day injured list, he’s not eligible to return until early June. …
Angels reliever Austin Warren was placed on the injured list with a nasal fracture Tuesday after being hit in the face with a stray fly ball during Red Sox batting practice, according to a report. …
Entering Tuesday, the Red Sox ranked tied for fifth in the majors with 14 defensive runs saved. Red Sox outfielders rank second with eight defensive runs saved.