Pearce finding his stroke for Red Sox

Extra work has Steve Pearce bouncing back at the plate.

HOUSTON -- The reigning World Series Most Valuable Player appears to be emerging as a factor again for the Red Sox.

Steve Pearce entered Friday's game against the Astros on a four-game hitting streak and looks far less lost at the plate than he did even 10 days ago. His 3-for-5 afternoon in an 8-2 shelling of the Blue Jays on Thursday included his first home run of the season. Pearce took left-handed reliever Ryan Feierabend to the second deck in left field at Rogers Centre, a towering shot that would have looked familiar following his July trade from Toronto to Boston last season.

“Mechanically he was way off,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Forget the at-bats in the World Series, the at-bats in that series against the Yankees when he got traded – he was way off. His stride, his balance, his hands – he was a work in progress.”

Pearce’s slash line after a May 3 win against the White Sox was an anemic .100/.200/.125. His batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage have climbed by a combined 243 points over the past three weeks. Pearce has been a regular on the field for early batting practice and has put in a significant among of work with Red Sox coaches in an attempt to find his stroke.

“I’ve been putting in a lot of work this season trying to get back to where I was,” Pearce said Thursday. “It feels good to get the ball rolling in the right direction.”

Pearce was relatively inactive throughout spring training, his playing time limited by a left calf strain that forced him to start the season on the injured list. He’s essentially been forced to find his timing while playing regular season games as opposed to the glorified scrimmages that take place under the Florida sun in March.

“I just had an unfortunate setback early in the season,” Pearce said. “But I’m healthy and I’ve been grinding and putting in a lot of work this season. I’m glad to finally start to see the results.”

Pearce was in the lineup Friday against left-hander Wade Miley, the role Boston had in mind when they acquired Pearce from the Blue Jays for minor league infielder Santiago Espinal.

Getting a break: Rafael Devers received his first day off this season on Friday.

The third baseman has been on a hot streak at the plate, cracking six home runs in his last 18 games after being shut out through his first 32. Devers also has extra-base hits in each of his last four and is hitting .358 with a 1.004 OPS over his last 25.

“It’s a lefty on the mound, so we’ve got (Eduardo) Nunez at third,” Cora said. “I think we’re in a good place offensively. He’s been amazing. I start looking at stats and where he’s at in the league, it’s fun.”

Devers has put 83 balls in play this season with an exit velocity of 95 mph or more, the most in the big leagues. His .384 on-base percentage dwarfs the .298 he posted last season, and Devers is just 11 shy of the 24 doubles he cracked in 121 games in 2018.

Returning: J.D. Martinez returned to the lineup after missing all four games of the series with Toronto.

Martinez served as the designated hitter after back tightness kept him out the last two days. Martinez also battled an illness on Tuesday.

 “He’s better,” Cora said. “He hit earlier. He’s ready to go.”

 Michael Chavis was back in the leadoff spot against Miley, with Andrew Benintendi again dropped to sixth against a left-handed starter. Chavis and Benintendi were in the same places on Thursday against Blue Jays’ left-hander Clayton Richard.

“He’s walking against lefties,” Cora said, noting Benintendi’s on-base percentage of .389 against southpaws. “He’s not doing damage against them.”

Chavis cracked a solo home run against Miley in Sunday’s 4-3 win over the Astros at Fenway Park.

Rehab update: Brock Holt (right shoulder) and Dustin Pedroia (left knee) were transferred from Triple-A Pawtucket to Double-A Portland to continue their respective rehab assignments.

Holt was riding a six-game hitting streak with the PawSox and continued to start at shortstop. Pedroia went 0 for 3 against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday and is in the process of making some mechanical adjustments in the box.

“I know the numbers are not there, but if you look at the at-bats his stride is getting better,” Cora said. “He was actually flying open and stepping in the bucket. Little by little he’s getting close.”

Cora said Holt “is getting close” to being activated off the injured list and could join the Red Sox at some point during the weekend series here.