Red Sox Journal: Players trying to maintain a positive attitude

All the Red Sox can do now is turn the page.

The four-game drilling handed out by the Rays at Fenway Park is over. Boston will be on the road for 11 of its next 13, including the next four against the Yankees in the Bronx.

Thursday’s 17-8 defeat against Tampa Bay included a pair of position players taking the mound in the top of the ninth inning. Jose Peraza was struck on the right knee by a line drive, forcing Kevin Plawecki to [...]

All the Red Sox can do now is turn the page.

The four-game drilling handed out by the Rays at Fenway Park is over. Boston will be on the road for 11 of its next 13, including the next four against the Yankees in the Bronx.

Thursday’s 17-8 defeat against Tampa Bay included a pair of position players taking the mound in the top of the ninth inning. Jose Peraza was struck on the right knee by a line drive, forcing Kevin Plawecki to ditch his catcher’s gear and record the final two outs.

"Obviously you can’t control what happened already," Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. "Those games are over with. Just try to control what we have going forward. Try to go out there and have some fun."

Is that possible in this era of pandemic baseball? COVID-19 has stripped the togetherness from clubs like Boston. The home clubhouse has been replaced by suites, and road trips include none of the team dinners or other bonding opportunities that existed in the past. There is little chance to truly kick back and refresh away from the field.

"They’re not happy with this losing," Boston manager Ron Roenicke said. "I still see the effort level. I still see how they prepare going into every single game we play. The attitude, what they talk about before the game — it’s still been good."

Some have appeared more crestfallen than others. Rafael Devers made three errors on Thursday and cast his eyes skyward after one of them, searching to the heavens for an answer. He walked from the dugout to his position in the ninth, a course of action that would generally earn a verbal rebuke from a stern high school or college coach.

"Some guys, it’s not going the way they want to," Bogaerts said. "It’s been tough. Just got to be there for your teammates at a time like this. If you see their heads down, you’ve got to go and remind them that you’re here for them — anything they need.

"You want to see them succeed so bad. It’s also when you see it because you know what these guys are capable of. It’s been rough. Hopefully we can find ways to have fun and that will change."

Switch in the rotation

The Red Sox have opted to break up Nathan Eovaldi and Martin Perez in their starting rotation.

Eovaldi will pitch on Saturday and Perez takes the ball on Monday against the Yankees. Both will enter their next outing in the Bronx with an extra day of rest.

"We’ve got two guys who we know are going to start," Roenicke said. "They’ve been giving us length. It is nice to spread those guys out. Both of those reasons are why we’ve done this."

Colten Brewer drew the start on Friday night in what was expected to be a bullpen day. Boston will make a roster move ahead of Sunday’s game and call up a starting pitcher from the alternate site at Pawtucket. Chris Mazza is among those in contention after 2 2/3 solid frames during the first Red Sox trip to the Bronx.

"Our games are that much more important to make sure we win those," Eovaldi said. "Then we’re asking our bullpen to fill in another big role and try to fill in three games in between there."

Boston starters aside from Eovaldi and Perez entered Friday night with a 10.45 earned-run average.

Around the diamond

Peraza (right knee) was out of the lineup on Friday night.

The infielder took a line drive off his right knee while pitching in the ninth inning of Thursday’s 17-8 loss against the Rays. Post-game x-rays were negative and Peraza was expected to be available again as early as Saturday.

"He was actually doing well when I went in after the game," Roenicke said. "I actually walked off the plane right behind him last night and he wasn’t limping going down the steps."

Jonathan Arauz made his sixth career start in place of Peraza. He’s on an 8-for-13 roll after beginning his career hitless in 10 at-bats. For the sake of comparison, regulars like Jackie Bradley Jr. and Andrew Benintendi have a combined eight hits in their last 82 at-bats.

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @BillKoch25