BOSTON — Bobby Poyner’s Red Sox career got off to an odd start.
Manager Alex Cora elected to have the young left-hander warm up in the first game, but decided it was best he didn’t enter the game, even with Joe Kelly getting in trouble.
Poyner pitched in the third game of the season, giving up a solo home run in two-thirds of an inning.
Since [...]
BOSTON — Bobby Poyner’s Red Sox career got off to an odd start.
Manager Alex Cora elected to have the young left-hander warm up in the first game, but decided it was best he didn’t enter the game, even with Joe Kelly getting in trouble.
Poyner pitched in the third game of the season, giving up a solo home run in two-thirds of an inning.
Since then, he’s been one of the better relievers for Boston, posting four scoreless innings over three appearances, striking out six. Most notable was his two-inning outing in Boston's walk-off win in the home opener on Thursday, when he struck out three and gave up one hit, earning his first major league victory.
Since he has pitched in four of the eight games this season, it appears Cora’s gained confidence in Poyner. But Cora would argue his faith in the reliever hasn’t changed.
“I don’t know if it’s growing confidence, just because I decided not to pitch him [in] his first big league game with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth inning didn’t mean I didn’t trust him,” Cora said. “I think it’s common sense. You don’t want to put him in that spot. ... The next day was a full go. I have full confidence in him.”
With Poyner having early success and several other relievers on the team struggling, he’ll continue to get more opportunities.
“I kind of just try to make my pitches in whatever situation they put me in,” Poyner told the Standard-Times. “Whenever they put me in [the game] I feel like I’m just going to continue my game plan and go from there.”
Taking on big league hitters is still a bit of an adjustment for Poyner, as it would be for any rookie pitcher. But he seems at ease.
“Well, you definitely notice a big difference [with] the hitters in the big leagues versus Double-A,” Poyner said. “But I think my toughest transition was high-A. ... I went from low-A to high-A in May of my first year, and [in] those three months in high-A my stats weren’t very good.
“That was when I made my biggest adjustments and transitions as a pitcher as far as my changeup and how I pitch with my fastball. That was kind of my learning curve, in high-A actually.”
Leon in lineup
Aside from Sandy Leon catching Rick Porcello, the Red Sox lineup had a familiar look on Saturday.
The same seven position players who started in both the road and home openers were in the lineup, along with J.D. Martinez serving as the designated hitter. Xander Bogaerts remains the only player yet to get a day off, playing his eighth straight game at shortstop.