Mr. Smith goes to McCoy
Rehabbing reliever looks sharp in PawSox stint
PAWTUCKET – It should be interpreted as a good sign that the Red Sox are thinking about ramping up Carson Smith’s workload during his rehab assignment.
“Right now we’ve been going on the pitching-once-every-three-days program,” Smith said prior to appearing in his fifth game with the PawSox on Monday night. “We’ll reassess (Tuesday) and see how I feel.”
Smith worked a 1-2-3 sixth inning with two strikeouts against Buffalo. He threw 13 pitches (eight strikes) with his fastball topping out at 91 miles per hour. He closed his outing with three straight sliders that went for strikes against the right-handed hitting Teoscar Hernandez, the Bisons’ cleanup hitter. Throwing that particular offspeed pitch with greater efficiency against righties has been a priority for Smith since joining Pawtucket.
“It’s a pitch that’s getting better. It may not be in midseason form, but I definitely like where it’s heading. It’s gotten better every outing,” Smith said. “Now that I have the shape of it for the most part, I can start to move it in and out and up and down.
“I’m still working on things, but that’s always going to be the case,” Smith added. “The learning curve never stops.”
Boston manager John Farrell mentioned recently that the team is strongly considering giving Smith just one day off between appearances. Do the math and that would mean the Tommy John surgery recipient would work next on Wednesday night against the same Buffalo ball club he faced on Monday. Smith, 27, has shown strong signs when it comes responding well the
day after he pitches, hence why the Red Sox are seeking to take the next step by limiting his downtime between appearances on the mound.
“There haven’t been any setbacks and that’s been the most important thing. The training staff has come up with a schedule that fits my body right now,” Smith said. “Whenever you’re doing some sort of throwing activity on the field, you can quickly tell if you’re sore. So far, I haven’t had any hiccups. Little things here or there, but nothing that treatment can’t handle and keep me moving forward.”
Said PawSox manager Kevin Boles, “He’s bounced back. After every outing, he says he feels good. The velocity has been in the 91-92 range and he’s shown life to all his pitches.”
Smith has now allowed two runs on four hits over 4.1 Triple-A innings. Both of those runs came in the same outing – last Tuesday at Columbus – where he threw 14 of his 17 pitches for strikes.
“If you looked at the box score from that game, someone would probably find it hard to believe that was a positive day, but I was really happy about that outing,” Smith said. “I felt good. That was the first day where I felt I had good command. I was pitching and not out there just trying to throw strikes. It felt good and hopefully I can keep building off that.”
The target date for Smith to return to the Red Sox figures to come when the rosters expand on September 1. The regular-season for the PawSox ends on Labor Day, which this year falls on September 4.
“I’ve been out of baseball for a year and a half, but I don’t set goals or expectations regarding when I return,” Smith said. “I fully anticipate being up there in September, but things can happen and I understand that.”
Blaine Boyer (neck strain) tossed a scoreless fifth inning in his first rehab appearance with the PawSox on Monday. He threw 12 of his 16 pitches for strikes. … Brian Johnson, who started the game for Pawtucket, allowed two solo home runs in the second inning and was pulled after four innings and 71 pitches (50 strikes). The lefty allowed six hits and struck out five with no walks. … Boles said it’s going to be a while before Rusney Castillo returns to the lineup. The outfielder was placed on the dis- abled list last Friday with a knee injury. … Outfielder Anuery Tavarez underwent season-ending surgery on his right hand last week. … The series with the Bisons continues Tuesday night with Roenis Elias (1-3, 7.27) on the mound for Pawtucket.