Red Sox-Rays game postponed

Series opened Friday rescheduled as part of a day-night doubleheader on June 8.

BOSTON -- Seasons past might have seen the Red Sox and Rays occupying opposite places in the standings during their first Fenway Park encounter.

Tampa Bay came into Friday holding a two-game lead over the Yankees in the American League East. Boston was in fourth place, 5½ games off the pace and has some early work to do if it hopes to capture a fourth straight division crown.

Cutting the deficit was postponed for at least one day. The series opener was postponed due to a forecast calling for steady rain throughout the evening. The Rays and Red Sox will make up the game as part of a day-night doubleheader on June 8, playing at the initially scheduled 1:05 p.m. and adding a second contest at 6:10 p.m.

Boston manager Alex Cora isn’t panicking. But he’s also not making the mistake of viewing Tampa Bay as some sort of gimmicky flash in the pan. The Rays and their pitching philosophy have generated a fair bit of conversation throughout the game over the past couple years, with Tampa Bay employing an opener to record as few as three outs on some occasions.

“Is it that much different than anybody else?” Cora said. “I know they’ve got the opener and all that, but they’ve still got Charlie (Morton) and (Blake) Snell and (Tyler) Glasnow. Those are three pretty good starters.

“They’ve got two guys at the back end of the bullpen who are closers. They’re pretty similar to a lot of big league teams.”

Morton was a free-agent addition from the Astros in the offseason, signing a two-year, $30-million deal with a club option for 2021. Snell is the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner and Glasnow sports a 1.53 earned-run average through five starts and 29-1/3 innings this season. Diego Castillo and Jose Alvarado, the closer-worthy arms referenced by Cora, are a flame-throwing right-hander and left-hander, respectively.

The difference between the Rays and other clubs involves pitchers like Ryne Stanek, a right-hander who has made starts in six of his 11 appearances but totaled just 13-2/3 innings. The Brewers rode a similar approach to the National League Championship Series last season and the Athletics began with a reliever, Liam Hendriks, in their AL wild-card matchup against New York.

“It’s not that we don’t believe, but we’ve got five guys who can start,” Cora said. “That’s why we stay away. There are certain days where we use somebody who can give us nine outs.

“I think there’s a confusion between the opener and a starter who can give you nine or 12. We might have to come up with a different name for that one.”

Holt on rehab: Brock Holt (right eye) began a second 20-day rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket on Friday.

Holt joined the PawSox for their series opener at Rochester and was slated to serve as the designated hitter. He was pulled back from a previous stint with Pawtucket after just one game and three at-bats, still suffering from the effects of a scratched cornea.

“We’ll see how he feels,” Cora said. “For everything that we saw and the feedback we got, the swing is a lot better now than it was a month ago. But he needs to play and get at-bats.”

Holt was just 1 for 19 in six games with Boston and struck out seven times. His last appearance came in an 0-for-4 showing at Arizona on April 5. Cora wants Holt to reprise his utility role when he’s recalled to the Red Sox and expects starts at multiple infield and outfield spots.

“Obviously it’s how he feels, too,” Cora said. “But he needs at-bats. He hasn’t been right the whole season.”

Michael Chavis was scheduled to make his fifth start at second base for the Red Sox on Friday, which would be the second-most on the club behind the 10 posted by Eduardo Nunez.

Dustin Pedroia (left knee) hit inside and is expected to go through a workout on the field Saturday afternoon. There is still no date set for Pedroia or Nunez (back strain) to potentially begin rehab assignments and return off the injured list. That doesn’t mean Cora is about to guarantee anything in the future for Chavis.

“I think that’s a conversation for later,” Cora said. “He’s playing second base today. We’ll take advantage of that.”

Chavis has cracked six home runs in 18 total games this season with the PawSox and Boston. His second in the big leagues came in the second inning of Thursday’s 7-3 victory over the Tigers, a two-run shot to the Monster Seats in left field.

“They’ve done such a good job of making me feel welcome,” Chavis said. “Being comfortable and being able to perform in some situations that help the team, that’s what I’m here for.”