Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 20, 2021 3:29:24 GMT -5
Red Sox Journal: Ready for early start, Eovaldi continues to shine
Bill Koch
The Providence Journal
BOSTON — Nathan Eovaldi spent the last few days preparing his body for the special Patriots' Day first pitch at 11:10 a.m.
His previous outing came at Minnesota as part of a seven-game road trip, and Eovaldi’s next turn on full rest fell on Monday morning. The right-hander set his alarm for 7 a.m. over each of the last three days and resisted the urge to hit the snooze button.
Eovaldi’s third victory of the season was his reward, as the Red Sox cruised to an 11-4 triumph over the White Sox at Fenway Park. He scattered nine hits and struck out 10 over 6 1/3 innings. Eovaldi didn’t issue a walk and challenged Chicago hitters to make contact after being staked to a quick 6-1 lead.
“If the offense is swinging the bats, I want to get [my teammates] back in the dugout as fast as possible,” Eovaldi said. “I don’t want to be falling behind against those hitters and have them standing around in the outfield or the infield waiting for me to attack the zone.”
Boston sent 11 men to the plate in the bottom of the first, erasing an early 1-0 deficit. Eovaldi was left to wait prior to throwing his next pitch, and he wasn’t about to just sit in the dugout. He retreated under the grandstand to throw and stretch in an indoor batting cage.
“My arm was nice and loose,” Eovaldi said. “I was stretching down there. I was moving around in the dugout. I was ready to go back out with no issues.”
Eovaldi has been aggressive through his four starts to date, walking just four while striking out 24. He’s allowed 21 hits but no home runs, and opponents are batting just .236 against him. Most importantly, Eovaldi has looked healthy after enduring five stints on the injured list through his previous five seasons.
Getting their shots
Manager Alex Cora said some of his players were getting their first COVID-19 vaccinations at Fenway Park on Monday.
"Today, there's some guys that are going to get the vaccine," Cora said before Monday's annual Patriots' Day game. "I'm not going to tell you how many."
The state announced that anyone 16 and older who lives, works or studies in Massachusetts is eligible to receive the vaccine on Monday. Cora said he already got his first shot and will get his second one with another group on Wednesday.
"I did it not only for myself, but I want to protect the people around me," he said. "We're doing it for the right reason. This is more than baseball."
Cora said there's been a lot of discussion about whether to get vaccinated.
"I'm not going to get into specifics, but there were a lot of good questions," he said. "We got guys that have families and have kids already to guys that are trying to have kids. There were a lot of good questions and we provided them with people that are experts on this and they had answers."
Cora said he was confident the Red Sox would get to the 85% vaccinated threshold that Major League Baseball would like to see each club reach. MLB and the players' association sent a memo to players and staff last month that said some of the sport's coronavirus-related restrictions would be relaxed once 85% of a team's major-league players and primary field staff are vaccinated.
For the first time since the Red Sox started playing their annual Patriots' Day game in 1959, Monday's contest was not held in conjunction with the Boston Marathon, which was moved to an Oct. 11 due to the state's limits on crowds because of the pandemic.
One to forget
Lucas Giolito had an outing to forget on Monday.
The 46 pitches he threw in the bottom of the first set an unwanted career-high over a single inning. The six earned runs he allowed tied for the most scored against him in an outing since his 2016 debut season with the Nationals.
Giolito carried a 2.55 ERA into this matchup with the Red Sox — he exited with that number more than doubled at 5.79. The right-hander was brilliant in his last start against Cleveland, allowing just three hits over seven scoreless frames.
“They’re extremely talented,” Eovaldi said. “We had the pressure on him.”
Boston pounded out 17 hits against five White Sox pitchers, including three apiece from Alex Verdugo, J.D. Martinez and Christian Vazquez. Verdugo smashed a solo home run to the bleachers in right while Martinez sent a drive over the Green Monster in left. Vazquez dropped a surprising bunt single in the first before stroking a pair of liners to center.
Patriots' Day progress
Cora was part of a six-game winning streak on the holiday from 2004-09, playing in the 2006 and 2007 editions.
The Red Sox manager went 1-for-3 and knocked in a run in victories over the Mariners and Angels. Boston walked off on Seattle, 7-6, thanks to a two-run homer from Mark Loretta. The Red Sox had an easier time against Los Angeles, scoring six times in the first on the way to a 7-2 victory.
“The only thing I knew was I was going to play that game,” Cora said. “Tito always made me play that game.”
Former Boston manager Terry Francona finished 7-1 on the holiday, with his lone defeat coming against the Rays in 2010. Mike Timlin was his winning pitcher in relief on two occasions. The victory over the Angels was also famous for a pizza-throwing incident in the left-field boxes captured by NESN cameras.
Whitlock cruises, again
Garrett Whitlock continued an unblemished start to his Red Sox career on Monday.
The right-hander turned in 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief, taking over for Eovaldi and closing out the game. He struck out a pair and missed the zone on just six of his 29 pitches.
Whitlock is up to a complete game over his four appearances — nine full innings. The Rule 5 Draft pick from the Yankees has allowed just three hits, walked nobody and fanned 11. Opponents are batting just .100 against him and have managed three singles.
With Associated Press reports.