HOUSTON — Alex Cora made something of a public service announcement prior to Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Astros on Tuesday.
Chris Sale throwing at any point in the Red Sox bullpen was not meant to spike Boston’s collective heart rate. The manager was simply offering his ace a chance to get some work in after rejoining the team at Minute Maid Park. There was no scheduled relief appearance like the one Sale made in the [...]
HOUSTON — Alex Cora made something of a public service announcement prior to Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Astros on Tuesday.
Chris Sale throwing at any point in the Red Sox bullpen was not meant to spike Boston’s collective heart rate. The manager was simply offering his ace a chance to get some work in after rejoining the team at Minute Maid Park. There was no scheduled relief appearance like the one Sale made in the eighth inning of the clinching game of the A.L. Division Series against the Yankees.
“If you guys see him in the bullpen during the game, he’s not coming in the eighth to pitch,” Cora said. “If he has to throw a bullpen he’ll probably do it during the game. It’s going to be cool for everybody to see, but no.”
Sale was held overnight for observation Sunday at Massachusetts General Hospital and released Monday afternoon. Cora said the left-hander was battling an unknown stomach ailment but checked out fine after being put through a battery of tests. Sale’s status for a potential Game 5 start against Houston remains undetermined.
“We still think he can do it, but obviously we have to wait,” Cora said. “Like I said yesterday, this is more than us. It’s about him and how he feels. I’m not going to put him in a situation where he gets hurt because he’s not ready to pitch.”
Cora and Red Sox players like Mookie Betts and Rick Porcello were less concerned about Sale’s next outing than they were for his general health. Betts welcomed the news Monday that Sale would soon be on the way to Houston while Porcello opted for a more humorous approach in his pregame press conference on Tuesday.
“We talked to him,” Porcello said. “And now that we know he’s okay, when the hell is he going to pitch?”
Cora said Boston is discussing several options for Thursday including Eduardo Rodriguez making an emergency start or emptying the bullpen for short stints with Friday being a scheduled off day.
Three's a charm
Tuesday marked the start of what could be a pair of three-game stretches in the postseason for the Red Sox. The middle three games of the World Series would also be played consecutively at either Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles or Miller Park in Milwaukee.
“Right now, you win one here and you’ve got Game 6 at home,” Cora said. “That’s what we played the whole season for — home field advantage.”
Cora will likely be more aggressive with his bullpen should Boston hold a late lead at any point against Houston. Joe Kelly, Ryan Brasier and Matt Barnes have all worked multiple innings ahead of Craig Kimbrel in the playoffs and could do the same here. Kelly, Brasier, Barnes and Heath Hembree entered Game 3 with just one unearned run allowed in 16 2/3 innings this postseason.
“I don’t know if there’s a lot to it,” Brasier said following Sunday’s 7-5 win in Game 2. “We’re confident in everybody that we have down there. Anybody that comes in the game, we know they can do the job.”
“Don’t get caught up in the whole big picture coming here and winning three and going to the World Series or winning two out of three,” Cora said. “Let’s take care of one, and then we go from there.”
No surprises
It was the expected lineup for Boston against Houston left-hander Dallas Keuchel. Ian Kinsler started at second base, Eduardo Nunez returned at third base and Christian Vazquez served as the catcher.
The Red Sox had a run of right-handed hitters stretching from J.D. Martinez in the third spot to Vazquez batting eighth. When asked why Jackie Bradley Jr. flipped back to ninth after his three-run double on Sunday, Cora had a ready answer.
“Depending on who’s playing, with him hitting in front of Christian we can put pressure with a hit-and-run against a righty,” Cora said. “Today it’s Dallas, so we’ll bunch all the righties together and see what happens.”
Bradley batting ninth sandwiches Betts between a pair of left-handed hitters whenever the lineup turns. He’s 2-for-2 lifetime against Tony Sipp, the only left-hander available out of the Astros bullpen. The presence of Betts in that spot might limit Sipp to just one hitter if summoned to face Bradley, sparing Andrew Benintendi a left-left matchup in a potentially big spot.
Moreland getting closer
Steve Pearce was never in danger of missing out against a left-hander in Game 3, but Mitch Moreland’s return from a right hamstring strain could be drawing closer.
Pearce entered just 2-for-22 career against Keuchel, numbers that go against his .852 OPS in 792 lifetime at-bats against southpaws. Moreland has reached base safely in each of his pinch hitting appearances in the series and went through a full workout with his teammates on Monday.
“He’s moving better,” Cora said. “You can even see in his swing. He hasn’t played in a while and you can see in his swing the ball is jumping off his bat.”
Moreland drew an RBI walk in Game 1 and singled in Game 2. His pinch runner the second time was slow-footed catcher Sandy Leon, a change that Cora joked stung Moreland a bit.
“I think he’s feeling better now that we pinch ran for him with Sandy,” Cora said. “Now he’s like, ‘Hey, I can run.’”
Moreland is 4-for-9 with two doubles and a home run in his career against announced Houston Game 4 starter Charlie Morton. He crushed a two-run shot against Morton in the first inning of a 9-3 victory here on June 3.