Eovaldi eager to right ship
Encouraged by bullpen session after the worst start of career
Nathan Eovaldi moved on right away.
After serving up an MLB record-tying five home runs in one inning in Tuesday’s loss to the Astros, the Red Sox right-hander was frustrated but didn’t let it linger. He’s confident he made the right adjustments in between starts to bounce back Sunday against the Mariners.
“I’ve already flushed it,” Eovaldi said. “I feel good with where I’m at. Obviously it’s frustrating having to deal with it. Obviously it’s the worst start of my career, things like that. I try to focus on my health and my mechanics and I feel good on both sides of those, so turn the page, go out there and attack these guys.”
Eovaldi chalked up the flurry of homers to poor pitch location against a talented Astros lineup that was sitting on certain pitches, which has become a theme when he faces them.
“I felt like I left a lot of pitches out over the plate where they could really handle it,” Eovaldi said. “I just feel like every time the Astros face me, they do a really good job of eliminating certain pitches and I have a hard time adjusting to that.”
Eovaldi has now given up 14 homers in eight starts this season, which is a dramatic increase from last season, when he served up just 15 homers in 32 starts. The right-hander described that change as frustrating, but he keeps coming back to his slider as a root issue. It’s a pitch he refined over the offseason to enhance his deep repertoire, but he feels like the focus put into that pitch has affected the sharpness of his others.
“I started working on a lot of my other pitches in between series in my bullpen and I feel a lot better,” Eovaldi said. “I’m a lot happier with where they’re at. I’ve been working on the slider I think a little too much and it’s almost taken away from the action of my curveball and my cutter, so I didn’t have that sharpness to it. But other than that, everything felt really good. …
“It’s definitely frustrating,” Eovaldi added of the number of homers he’s allowed this season. “I just have to do a better job getting guys off of certain pitches. I have to do a better job of speeding them up and slowing them down. I think a lot of it is the slider to me personally. I think I’ve been trying to throw it too much and too often.”
Bogaerts back after scare
Xander Bogaerts was back in Saturday’s lineup as the Red Sox avoided a scare with their star shortstop.
Bogaerts was listed as day to day with lower back discomfort after colliding with Alex Verdugo during a play in the eighth inning of Friday’s win. On a pop up to short left field, Bogaerts was backpedaling for the ball when Verdugo slid underneath him while also trying to make the play, sending the shortstop crashing to the ground on his back. He dropped the ball as he fell and was down in pain for several moments.
Bogaerts stayed in the game briefly before coming out in the bottom of the eighth. He had treatment and was feeling well enough to start on Saturday.
“(He) called me this morning, asked me to give him a chance to see how he was moving,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.
With an off day coming on Monday, it’s possible Bogaerts rests for Sunday’s game to give him two days in a row, but Cora was going to wait to see how he felt after Saturday’s game.
“One of the things about Xander is that he doesn’t like off days,” Cora said. “Not only because of the wall, but he feels this is home and I have to post at home. He told me that a few times throughout the years. But obviously we’ll be smart about it. If he needs two, we’ll give him two.”
Sale makes progress
Chris Sale threw a 15-pitch bullpen on Thursday in Fort Myers as the Red Sox left-hander resumed ramping up for a return.
Thursday’s bullpen is Sale’s first since late April, before he experienced a “personal medical issue” that forced him to stop throwing for several weeks. He had previously thrown a few shorter bullpens and had begun playing catch again recently.
“That’s the first step and now build him up,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.
Cora wasn’t certain yet how Sale’s rehab will be mapped out, but it’s likely the pitcher will throw his next bullpen next week. Sale — who was initially placed on the 60-day injured list in early April after suffering a stress fracture in his right rib cage in March — was previously expected to return in early June but that timeline has been pushed back weeks to likely late June.
Odds & ends
Cora had no further update on Connor Seabold, who was scratched from his start in Worcester on Friday due to a pectoral injury. The Red Sox don’t view it as serious but Cora said he would have an update on Sunday. …
With five games, including a Saturday doubleheader, against the Orioles next weekend, Cora said the Red Sox would likely add a minor league pitcher to start one of Saturday’s games. Josh Winckowski — acquired in last year’s Andrew Benintendi trade — could be a candidate to make his major league debut. He’s scheduled to pitch for Worcester on Sunday, which would put him in line to be ready for next Saturday if needed. …
Cora said the Red Sox will go with Nick Pivetta, Rich Hill and Michael Wacha as their starters for this week’s series against the White Sox, which starts Tuesday in Chicago . ...
Alex Verdugo left Saturday’s win at the start of the second inning due to an illness. Cora said he was experiencing flu-like symptoms and they’re hopeful it’s not COVID-related.