NEW YORK — It was none other than Alex Cora himself throwing early batting practice on Thursday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.


 


The Red Sox manager had his eyes on Jackie Bradley Jr., with the outfielder receiving a second straight day off.


 


Bradley, Andrew Benintendi and Blake Swihart were among those on the field at around 2:30 p.m. for some extra hitting. Bradley was [...]

Bill Koch

NEW YORK — It was none other than Alex Cora himself throwing early batting practice on Thursday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

 

The Red Sox manager had his eyes on Jackie Bradley Jr., with the outfielder receiving a second straight day off.

 

Bradley, Andrew Benintendi and Blake Swihart were among those on the field at around 2:30 p.m. for some extra hitting. Bradley was likely to sit regardless against Yankees left-hander C.C. Sabathia, but his absence the previous night against right-hander Masahiro Tanaka was due to his 7-for-58 funk over the last three weeks.

 

“He hit early today, he’ll hit early tomorrow and we’ll go from there,” Cora said. “Like we talked about yesterday, we’re making some adjustments.”

 

Aside from its battery of Eduardo Rodriguez and Christian Vazquez, Boston featured the same lineup for the second straight night. J.D. Martinez started in right field, Betts slid over the center, Mitch Moreland played first base and Hanley Ramirez served as the designated hitter. Moreland’s four home runs in his last five games and 1.078 OPS on the season have become impossible for Cora to ignore or keep on the bench.

 

“The way I put it, [Bradley has] got to be an athlete again,” Cora said. “He’s one of the best athletes we have on the team. Just get back to being relaxed, moving his hands and get some rhythm.”

 

Bradley is 4-for-13 with a home run and a pair of walks against Aaron Sanchez, a right-hander listed as the probable starter for the Blue Jays on Friday. The Red Sox open the final three-game leg of their road trip with a 7:07 p.m. first pitch at Rogers Centre.

 

 

 

Thornburg tested

 

Tyler Thornburg (right shoulder) ran into his first bit of real trouble Thursday during his minor-league rehab stint.

 

The right-handed reliever was touched up for two hits and two earned runs in Double-A Portland’s 7-2 win over Binghamton. Thornburg issued a leadoff walk, went to two more three-ball counts and allowed a double and a single before ending his outing. He needed 24 pitches to retire just two batters in the top of the sixth inning.

 

Cora said prior to Thursday’s game that Thornburg would join the Red Sox in Toronto to throw a bullpen session. He will return to the minor leagues to continue his rehab assignment immediately following.

 

“That’s kind of like a back-to-back with him tomorrow,” Cora said. “One of those aggressive bullpens.”

 

Thornburg had thrown 3 2/3 scoreless innings over four appearances with the Sea Dogs and Pawtucket since making his return to the mound April 30.

 

 

 

Wright in relief

 

Steven Wright (suspension) is scheduled to work out of the bullpen for the PawSox on Friday, with his Monday activation date drawing ever closer.

 

The right-hander threw six strong innings as a starter on Tuesday, scattering eight hits without issuing a walk against Lehigh Valley. Wright would make for a unique reliever as a knuckleballer, with Boston featuring mostly power right-handed arms out of the bullpen on its current 25-man roster.

 

“He’s going to be different with the knuckleball,” Cora said. “We’ve got catchers that don’t seem like they have a problem with that. As of now, that’s where we see him.”

 

 

 

A historic run

 

The Yankees had won 17 of 18 games going into Thursday, approaching one of their best stretches in franchise history.

 

New York went 21-1 over a 22-game span from May 27 to June 18 during the 1953 season. The Yankees were off and running to a fifth straight World Series title, a feat that remains unmatched. They were led to the championship by a group of 20-somethings including outfielder Mickey Mantle, catcher Yogi Berra, second baseman Billy Martin and starting pitcher Whitey Ford.

 

Rhode Island native Clem Labine was the losing pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the decisive Game Six. Martin grounded an RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the ninth inning to give New York a walkoff 4-3 victory.

 

-- bkoch@providencejournal.com

 

On Twitter: @BillKoch25