RED SOX NOTEBOOK: Alex Cora shuffles lineup against Yanks

Christian Vazquez, Brock Holt and Rafael Devers replace Sandy Leon, Ian Kinsler and Eduardo Nunez for ALDS Game 3

NEW YORK — Career numbers against Yankees' starter Luis Severino mattered less than recent performances when it came time for Red Sox manager Alex Cora to fill out his lineup card for Monday night's game.

That’s the conclusion that could be drawn ahead of Game 3 in the American League Division Series. Christian Vazquez, Brock Holt and Rafael Devers replaced Sandy Leon, Ian Kinsler and Eduardo Nunez for the pivotal matchup against the Yankees in the Bronx.

Vazquez, Holt and Devers were a combined 3 for 35 against the New York right-hander entering the 7:40 p.m. first pitch, but all three were listed in the starting nine as the Red Sox looked to snap out of a bit of a funk. Boston had scored just four runs in its previous 16 innings in the series and managed only five hits in a 6-2 loss in Game 2.

“They stay ready,” Cora said. “I talked to them last night. I talked to the guys who aren’t playing — we’ve got two veteran guys (Kinsler and Nunez) who aren’t playing. They’re like, ‘Thank you for the phone call, but you didn’t have to do that.’

“I think it was important for them to understand where we’re going, and they have to be ready.”

Leon is 0 for 5 in the series and logged just the eighth sacrifice bunt by the Red Sox this season. Kinsler has struck out a team-high five times in eight at-bats and Nunez was 0 for 7. The bottom half of the Boston order was making life far too easy for the Yankees’ pitching staff, which has allowed just four extra-base hits through two games.

“You talk to them and you stay in touch with them,” Cora said. “It’s easy to say, ‘Hey, we’re all in, here we go with 25 guys regardless of your role.’ But you’ve got to talk to them — this is where we’re going, this is your role. Just be ready.”

Steve Pearce also started, playing first base, for the ailing Mitch Moreland (right hamstring), who Cora said was available to pinch hit off the bench. Moreland is a career 7 for 20 against Severino while Pearce has been serviceable at 2 for 7 with a double and a home run. Pearce is also in line to start Game 4 against CC Sabathia given his career numbers against the left-hander — 12 for 38 with three doubles and three home runs.

Offering his services: Cora said David Price declared himself ready to pitch out of the bullpen after another difficult postseason outing on Saturday.

The left-hander retired just five of the 10 men he faced and fell to 0-9 in 10 career playoff starts, the only pitcher without a victory among the 70 who have made at least that many starts in the postseason. Four of Price’s last five playoff bullpen stints have been longer than the 1-2/3 inning start he had against the Yankees.

“We’ll see how it goes,” Cora said. “Still, he made a start two days ago — health is very important. I know everybody is all in, but I have to be smart about it.”

Bringing Price into a game in this environment could be akin to waving red meat in front of a hungry lion. Price allowed 14 hits and eight home runs in two starts here this season, covering 8-2/3 innings. His past relief successes in the postseason could be negated both by the opponent and the venue, but Price and Cora haven’t lost faith that he could still play a factor in helping Boston advance in this series.

“We’ll use him however we need him,” Cora said. “Obviously, like he said, that wasn’t good. But he’s ready to go. He said it — he wants to win a World Series.”

State of the bullpen: Price’s early departure on Saturday left the Red Sox bullpen with 22 outs to record.

The first seven came from Joe Kelly, one of the final inclusions on the 25-man playoff roster. Kelly threw 20 of his 25 pitches for strikes and flashed triple-digit heat against New York in Game 2, topping out at 101.2 mph on his last pitch of the third inning.

“Towards the end of the year I felt good throwing the ball,” Kelly said on Saturday. “I kept working and I’ve just got to try to continue the same way of delivering the ball and mechanics and go from there.”

“He was really, really good,” Cora said. “Honestly, it felt like he could have kept throwing and kept getting more outs. Obviously we’ve got more games to play, so we had to be careful.”

Matt Barnes and Craig Kimbrel each enjoyed two full days of rest going into Monday's game. Ryan Brasier was available to work for a third time in as many games after throwing one inning on Saturday.