The Red Sox, who were without on Saturday J.D. Martinez after he was placed on the COVID-19 Reserve List, can finish a sweep of the Orioles this afternoon along Baltimore’s Inner Harbor (1:05 p.m., NESN). Martinez will be back for this one after being cleared of COVID.
The chance comes after another thrilling win in a week full of them, an extra-inning win that helped redeem Garrett Richards after a poor first start, redeem Rafael Devers after some more iffy defense and reaffirm Matt Barnes’s bullpen supremacy. Michael Chavis, promoted to take Martinez’s place on the active roster, got his first action of the year as the runner on second in the 10th inning and scored the winning run, reinforcing Alex Cora’s view that the Sox are built to win even when their top players are out, per Todd Karpovich of the AP via Boston.com:
“It’s a good vibe,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “A lot of people don’t feel like we have any superstars. This is a good baseball team. They did everything right toward the end of the game.”
Chavis gets optioned back down to the Alternate Site today with Martinez being reactivated.
The team will look to keep the vibes going behind Pivetta, who was effective last time out, going five innings and allowing no runs as he increasingly relies on his slider, per Christopher Smith of MassLive.com:
“I just have a lot of really good command with it,” Pivetta said. “And when my fastball’s not there today — curveball was OK but kind of spotty — it’s just important when you’re facing a lineup like that to get ahead of guys and put guys away. They weren’t seeing it very well. So we just kind of stuck with that game plan throughout. And that’s just important. It’s making adjustments throughout, seeing where guy’s swings are and going out there and competing with what you’ve got that day.”
Pivetta will be backed up by pretty much the normal crew, including Rafael Devers back at third, Christian Vázquez behind the plate, Kiké Hernández out in center, and Marwin Gonzalez at second. And, as we mentioned, J.D. Martinez, who returns from a one-day absence to DH on Sunday.
Game 9: Red Sox vs. Orioles
Lineup Spot | Red Sox | Orioles |
---|---|---|
Lineup Spot | Red Sox | Orioles |
1 | Kiké Hernández, CF | Cedric Mullins, CF |
2 | Alex Verudgo, RF | Trey Mancini, 1B |
3 | J.D. Martinez, DH | Anthony Santander, RF |
4 | Xander Bogaerts, SS | Ryan Mountcastle, DH |
5 | Rafael Devers, 3B | DJ Stewart, LF |
6 | Christian Vázquez, C | Maikel Franco, 3B |
7 | Marwin Gonzalez, 2B | Rio Ruiz, 2B |
8 | Bobby Dalbec, 1B | Pedro Severinio, C |
9 | Franchy Cordero, LF | Freddy Gavlis, SS |
SP | Nick Pivetta, RHP | Jorge López, RHP |