Kinsler no stranger to new Sox teammates

Sox new second baseman Ian Kinsler excited to join team 'all pulling in the same direction'

BOSTON - Like Steve Pearce and Nathan Eovaldi before him, Ian Kinsler wasted no time offering his opinions on the Red Sox.

The veteran second baseman was acquired from the Angels along with cash considerations for Pawtucket relievers Ty Buttrey and Williams Jerez late Monday night. Kinsler started and batted sixth Tuesday against the Phillies, hoping to make his first contribution to what he called “the best team in baseball right now.”

“It’s a good group of guys,” Kinsler said. “When you hear that from guys that are on the team you know what you’re walking into. It’s a bunch of guys that are pulling to win and they’re all pulling in the same direction.”

Kinsler hardly needed an introduction to several of his new teammates. He played with pitchers David Price and Rick Porcello and outfielder J.D. Martinez on the 2014 Tigers. He also called first baseman Mitch Moreland a teammate with the Rangers. Those Detroit and Texas clubs were postseason staples during the early part of the decade, and Boston is in hot pursuit of a third straight American League East crown.

“To be a team like this, to be this type of team, you need to do everything well,” Kinsler said. “I think that’s the most impressive thing. You see World Series teams, playoff contenders — they do everything well.”

Kinsler batted .300 over his last 27 games with Los Angeles, cracking six doubles and three homers. He’s hit 20 or more doubles in each of his 13 seasons and only failed to reach double-digit homers in 2010. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Kinsler would likely bat sixth on nights that he plays, a production spot in the order behind Moreland and Xander Bogaerts.

“He’s a guy who makes a lot of contact,” Cora said. “From one through five, we have a lot of traffic. Having him in that spot, he’s going to benefit.”

Kinsler’s primary contribution could well come on the defensive side. At 10 runs saved per FanGraphs, he leads all American League second basemen and is second only to the Cardinals’ Kolten Wong (15) in the big leagues. Eduardo Nunez and Brock Holt have combined to cost Boston 15 runs on defense in their 111 games at the position this season.

“Our defense at second base is not great,” Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “It was okay. We were kind of hoping all along that Dustin (Pedroia) would come back, and maybe he will come back in September. There are no assurances to that.”

Pedroia (left knee inflammation) remains in Arizona working with his personal trainers. Cora called Pedroia late Monday to inform him of the trade to land Kinsler, and Dombrowski said the two-time World Series winner was on board.

“I don’t think that he needs that pressure to have to come back,” Dombrowski said. “If he does, we’ll happily deal with that at the time.”

Betts gets rest

Cora came up with one of his more eclectic lineups the season for Tuesday night’s series finale with the Phillies.

It did not include Mookie Betts in the leadoff spot but did include Blake Swihart as the starting catcher, batting second. Martinez was in right field, Kinsler at second base and Holt as the designated hitter.

None of the substitutions — Swihart at catcher instead of Sandy Leon, Martinez in right — were injury related, the manager said. With today being a day off before the Yankees come to town, somebody like Betts can get two full days off his feet.

Betts can use the time off. Since his average peaked at .362 after the game of July 14 he is 10-for-50 (.200) and his average has fallen to .339 in 11 games. Betts has also struck out a lot more than usual during the slump, 13 times.

Since July 7, when he was hitting .260, Leon is 6-for-50 (.120) and his average has dipped to .220. However, the Red Sox are 9-0 in his last nine starts behind the plate.

Leon’s offensive issues are not related to an increased workload at catcher, Cora said. His problem is that he is chasing pitches out of the strike zone.

Comfortable lead

New York and Boston are scheduled to meet from Thursday through Sunday although no matter what happens, the Red Sox will be in first place in the AL East come Monday morning.

The pitching matchups: Thursday, 7:10 p.m., Brian Johnson (1-3, 3.45) versus C.C. Sabathia (6-4, 3.53); Friday, 7:10 p.m., Porcello (13-4, 4.03) versus Luis Severino (14-4, 2.94); Saturday, 4:05 p.m., Eovaldi (1-0, 0.00 with Boston) versus J.A. Happ (11-5, 4.05); Sunday, 8:05 p.m., Price (11-6, 3.97) versus Masahiro Tanaka (8-2, 4.09).

The teams have played nine times this season and New York leads, 5-4. The Yankees are 4-2 in New York, the Red Sox are 2-1 in Boston. The teams usually play at least one four-game series a season, but not always. The last time the Red Sox swept a four-game series at Fenway Park was Sept. 15-18 of 2016. The last time the Yankees swept the Sox in Boston was actually in a five-game series from Aug. 18-21 of 2006.

No. 5 for Kinsler

With Tzu-Wei Lin dispatched to Pawtucket, Kinsler has taken possession of Number 5. That particular number has a long and successful tradition among its wearers.

Nomar Garciaparra is arguably its most accomplished alumnus, but George Scott was No. 5, as well as Vern Stephens and Jim Tabor. Denny Doyle, like Kinsler a second baseman who was acquired from the Angels in a mid-season trade, wore No. 5 when he came to Boston in 1975.

Oddly, none of the 35 Sox players who have had No. 5 have been pitchers.

Diamond dust

Kinsler is, indeed, the first Ian in Sox history. They’ve had two Ikes, two Ivans, an Ivy, Ira and an Israel, but no Ian until now. … The Phillies and Red Sox play twice more in the regular season with games in Philadelphia on Aug. 14-15. …With Chris Sale on the DL, Boston has nine players and $36,045,500 in payroll on sick call. … The last time the Red Sox’ starting catcher hit in the second spot in the batting order was Sept. 16, 2017 when Christian Vazquez did it at Tampa Bay. He was 2-for-4.