ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The curiosity accompanying the sight of Brian Johnson with a bat in his hand threatens to obscure the real headline.
The Red Sox left-hander will make his first start of the season on Monday at Miami, a combination of his own strong spring and the absence of three fellow contenders at the back end of the rotation. Drew Pomeranz (flexor strain) and Eduardo Rodriguez (right knee) continue to recover from their injuries, with each scheduled to throw [...]
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The curiosity accompanying the sight of Brian Johnson with a bat in his hand threatens to obscure the real headline.
The Red Sox left-hander will make his first start of the season on Monday at Miami, a combination of his own strong spring and the absence of three fellow contenders at the back end of the rotation. Drew Pomeranz (flexor strain) and Eduardo Rodriguez (right knee) continue to recover from their injuries, with each scheduled to throw extended outings at Fort Myers early this week. Knuckleballer Steven Wright won’t return until rehabbing from left knee surgery and serving a 15-game suspension imposed by Major League Baseball after a domestic assault arrest in December.
The John Olerud Award winner in 2012 as the best two-way player in college baseball, Johnson was a first-round pick by Boston out of Florida in the draft that June. He helped lead the Gators to the College World Series the previous season, serving as a weekend starting pitcher and batting .405 with four homers and five doubles.
“Hitting-wise, everybody’s excited about watching him tomorrow,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “I know he is. Hopefully he can get two [sacrifice] bunts down with men on first and second and put Mookie [Betts] in a situation where he can drive people in.
“He did great. Good guy. Like I’ve been saying the whole spring, he understands who he is.”
Johnson debuted at Houston in 2015 and made five more starts last season, including a 6-0 shutout of Seattle at Fenway Park on May 27. It was his first home outing as a member of the Red Sox, as Johnson struck out eight against no walks in a gem. He followed up this spring by fanning 13 and tossing a combined 8 2/3 scoreless frames in his last two outings against the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees.
“He looked at it and was like, ‘You know what? I’ve got a shot,’” Cora said. “‘I can start at the big league level.’ He did a good job."
Breather for Benintendi
Andrew Benintendi’s quest for his first hit of the season continues.
The outfielder was given the day off on Sunday after going a combined 0-for-11 through the first three games of the series. Benintendi did draw two walks in Saturday’s 3-2 win, but his strong spring training has yet to translate into success in 2018.
“They’re pitching to the edge of the strike zone,” Cora said. “He hasn’t seen too many pitches in the heart of the zone like he did in spring training.”
Benintendi finished second in last year’s American League Rookie of the Year voting, putting up 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases. He also walked in 10.6 percent of his plate appearances, with his discerning batting eye part of the overall makeup that convinced Boston to select him seventh overall out of Arkansas in the 2015 draft.
“Three days moving around out there — [the day off] was good for him,” Cora said. “Then tomorrow, in that big ballpark, we’d like him to be fresh and to be ready.”
Swihart gets a hit in debut
Blake Swihart made his season debut on Sunday, serving as the designated hitter.
J.D. Martinez opted to play left field in place of Benintendi, opening a spot for Swihart to crack the lineup. He walked in his first at-bat and sprayed a liner into left for a single in the fourth, going away from the overshift while batting left-handed. Swihart is likely to see action at some point against the Marlins, a double switch option both behind the plate and in left field.
“He’s a catcher and he’s learning to play the other positions,” Cora said. “On a daily basis that’s going to be the hardest decision as far as the lineup — how can we get him in?”
— bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25