Throwing gas
Downs goes deep in opener
Righty Nathan Eovaldi touched 99 mph in the Red Sox’ spring debut on Sunday in Fort Myers
After five months off, Nathan Eovaldi shook off the rust to throw the first official pitch for the 2021 Red Sox on Sunday afternoon.
The radar gun read 97 mph. The next pitch was 99 mph.
There’s only one speed Eovaldi knows, and it’s full throttle. The Sox’ flamethrower threw 38 pitches in total, 23 for strikes, as he struck out two, walked one, allowed two hits and two runs in 1
innings in the Sox’ Grapefruit League opener, a 7- 6 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
“I was excited to be out there,” Eovaldi said. “We had fans out there. It was great having them back in the ballpark. First game, I was just excited. I felt like I was rushing through my delivery.”
Eovaldi hasn’t pitched since Sept. 23, 2020, when he finished his season with a 3.72 ERA and the best strikeout-to-walk rate (52-to-7) of his career.
“I was feeling good,” he said Sunday. “I’ve been feeling good all camp. I feel like the velocity has been there early on in the live BP. In the offseason I have access to one of the Rapsodo machines as well. I know the velocity has been there. It’s usually not one of the things I have to worry about.
“My main thing is the tempo. I get excited out there and I need to control that and set my tempo and be able to execute my pitches. I feel like I get going too fast and it takes away from my offspeed pitches and it gets me in trouble.”
The 31-year-old is entering the third year of his four-year, $68million contract he signed after the 2018 World Series. He’s made just 21 starts since signing.
He’ll pitch again in six days as the Red Sox stay with a six-man rotation during the first half of spring training.
He said he was heckled by the Twins fans but was happy to see people at Hammond Stadium.
“Even driving into the ballpark, there’s a line of cars waiting to get in,” he said. “They say 24% capacity, but you don’t know what that’s going to look like. Everybody’s spaced out, it looks like a full ball
park. It’s exciting having the fans back, they’re heckling a little bit. It’s part of the game. You miss it. Juices were definitely flowing. You’re facing another team in the batter’s box, you’re not facing your guys anymore. You got the fans cheering. It’s baseball again. It feels good.”
Cora’s official return
Having manager Alex Cora back in the dugout for a game for the first time since 2019 was a welcome feeling for the Red Sox.
“It definitely crossed my mind having him in the dugout, giving the dabs right before the game and everything,” Eovaldi said. “I’m excited to have him back. I really missed him. Everybody missed having him around and being in the dugout and just the baseball mind he has, it’s unbelievable. It seems like he doesn’t miss anything.”
Despite getting suspended for a year due to his involvement in the
2017 Astros’ cheating scandal, Cora said he didn’t hear any heckling from the Twins fans.
“No, not at all,” he said. “I’m not going to be paying attention to that. I’m happy to be in the dugout. It was a great day just to be around and talking baseball and forgetting a few things you have to do as a manager.
“This is what I do: talk baseball, enjoy the game, teach the kids about what they have to do. … That’s why I do this. I enjoy it, and it was a fun day. It’s been fun since I got back, no doubt about it. And it was cool to see the kids play that way in the last part of the game.”
Going downtown
It was a big day for Red Sox youngsters.
The Sox got home runs from first baseman Bobby Dalbec, utility man Michael Chavis and second base prospect Jeter Downs.
Dalbec looks penciled in for the
first base job while Chavis is fighting for a bench spot. Downs will likely start the year at Triple-A.
“He’s a good player,” Cora said of Downs, the 22-year-old acquired as part of the Mookie Betts deal last February. “Everybody knows him. We like him a lot. Slow heartbeat, it seems like. Even during the drills, put a good swing on it there, going opposite field and sat on a breaking ball up the middle. He’s part of the future. We know that. Very happy he was able to perform.”
The Red Sox saw errors from Kiké Hernandez at shortstop and Jonathan Arauz at second base. … Cora praised catching prospect Connor Wong, another piece in the Betts deal, for his work behind the plate. … Prospect Jarren Duran got the first start in center field and went 1-for-2 with a single. … Garrett Richards will start the Sox’ home opener at JetBlue Park on Monday against the Braves.