MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 2019 The Boston Globe Sports C5
Royals-RedSoxseriesthumbnails
At FenwayPark
Monday, 7:10p.m.
NESN,WEEI-FM (93.7)
W-LERA
LHP Mike Montgomery 1-4 6.34
RHP Rick Porcello 9-85.74
Tuesday, 7:10 p.m.
NESN, WEEI-FM(93.7)
W-LERA
RHP Jakob Junis 6-105.03
RHP Andrew Cashner 10-64.44
Wednesday, 7:10p.m.
NESN, WEEI-FM(93.7)
W-LERA
RHP Glenn Sparkman 3-7 5.58
LHP Eduardo Rodriguez 13-54.19
Head to head:The Red Sox swept
a three-game series from the Roy-
als at Kauffman Stadiumin early
June. Thisis the first and only
meetingoftheseasonatFenway
Park.
Miscellany:KansasCity comesto
Bostonhavingbeenswept in back-
to-back series by Toronto and Min-
nesota,losing9 of 10... Whit
Merrifield,a collegeteammate of
JackieBradley Jr. at South Carolina
and a first-time All-Starthis year,
ranks in the top 10 in the AL in
batting (.298), runs (76),and stolen
bases (16)... Six-time GoldGlover
Alex Gordon,who had one of the
two Royals hits on Sunday, is hav-
ing a resurgence this season.The
left fielder’s .277 battingaverage is
his bestsince 2012... Jorge Sol-
er’s 29 homersare fifth in the AL.Eovaldi aims to evolve, pitch in as a reliever
ByPeter Abraham
GLOBESTAFF
NEWYORK — Outside of
the last two weeks,Nate Eoval-
dihas never worked as a reliev-
er beyond a
game here and
there. So it was
something he
had to get used to when the
Red Sox activated him from the
disabled list July 20 and as-
signed him to the bullpen.
Only in recent days has it
felt comfortable for the 29-
year-old righthander.
“It’s getting there,” Eovaldi
said Sunday before the Red Sox
were swept by the Yankees in a
7-4 loss. “I’m feeling good. My
pitches are better. I have a feel
for my curveball and splitter
now.
“The biggest thing coming
out of the bullpen is having an
understanding when you’ll
comein so you can prepare.”
His comfort shows in the re-
sults.Eovaldi struck out four of
the eight batters he faced in his
last two appearances and didn’t
allow a run. His fastball hit
99.4 miles per hour against the
Yankees on Friday night.
Eovaldimadefourstartsin
April before undergoing ar-
throscopic surgery to remove a
loose bodyin his elbow. He
then developed biceps tendini-
tis, lengthening his time on the
injured list.
Eovaldi’s first three appear-
ances were fastball-heavy and
Eovaldi allowed five runs on
nine hits over 2„ innings.
“His mix of pitches has been
a lot better,” managerAlexCora
said. “The breaking ball, the
split, and obviously the fastball
is a plus one. That’s the differ-
ence. I wasn’t worried about
him. It was a matter of seeing
how he does in a close game
and you see the results.”
Eovaldi said he’s striving for
consistency while building up
his endurance so he can throw
on back-to-back days or for two
innings.
“My arm feels great. I feel
I’m ready to do whatever I
needed,” he said. “The elbow is
not an issue. Everything feels
normal. I just need to watch my
pitch count and be efficient.”
The long-term plan is for
Eovaldi to return to the rota-
tion next season.Brewer demoted
The Red Sox optioned in-
fielderMarcoHernandezand
righthandersColtenBrewer
andJosh Smithto Triple A
Pawtucket.
DavidPrice, who started
Sunday night, was reinstated
from the paternity leave list.
The Sox also recalled right-
handerRyanWeberfrom Paw-
tucket.
Weber was summonedinthe fifth to relieveDarwinzon
Hernandezand threw four
scoreless inningsof relief, al-
lowing one hit while recording
a pair of strikeouts.
A third move was needed to
retain lefthanderBrianJohn-
son, who came off the injured
list Saturday and was the 26th
man for the doubleheader.
The Sox appear to finally be
souring on Brewer, who has a
1.75 WHIP. Opposing hitters
have a .384 on-base percentage
against him.
“He needs to work on a few
things,” Cora said. “The swing-
and-miss potential is there but
there’s some deep counts and
not controlling the strike zone.
We feel he can do a better job.”The Sox obtained Brewer
from the Padres in November
convincedhe was an underval-
ued asset because of the high
spin rate on his curveball and
cutter. But that hasn’t led to
success on the mound.
Hernandez was 1 for 4 with
a double and walk in Saturday’s
doubleheader. He is hitting
.333 with an .862 OPS in 29
games this season.Nochangeof heart
It’s not unusual for a man-
ager to complain about an um-
pire’s strike zone one day and
admit he was wrong a day later
after reviewing the game on
video.
That was most definitely notthe case for Cora’s opinion of
howMike Estabrookcalled
Game 1 of Saturday’s double-
header.
“I still don’t agree with some
of them,” Cora said. “It is what
it is. We got some calls; they got
some calls. Whatever. I didn’t
agree with it.”
Cora andChris Salewere
elected in the fourth inning af-
ter Estabrook missed what
should have been a called third
strike onGioUrshela.
Urshela singled to spark a
seven-run inning in a game the
Sox lost, 9-2.Mr. Reliable
Xander Bogaertshas made
801 starts at shortstop, sixth
most in Red Sox history. He
passedHeinie Wagner(1906-
18) on Saturday. Bogaerts
needs 94 moreto pass Hall of
FamerJoeCroninfor fifth place... The Yankees have won sev-
en consecutive series at home
against the Red Sox. The last
series the Sox won in the Bronx
was Aug. 11-13, 2017, when
they took two of three.. .Bob-
byDalbecis 3 for 8 in two
games for Triple A Pawtucket
since his promotion from Dou-
ble A Portland. Cora said the
Sox wanted to see how Dalbec
fared against older pitchers
with more of a gameplan. “It’s
another challenge in his pro-
cess,” the manager said. “It’ll be
good for him to go to Triple A
and see a different type of
pitching.” Dalbec, 24, has been
primarily a third basemanin
the minors but started 10
games at first this season. With
22-year-oldRafael Devers
locked in at third base for the
Sox, Dalbec figures to see more
time at first base.
A rare honor
Portland lefthanderDaniel
McGrathwas named the East-
ern League Player of the Month
for July. The last Sea Dogs
pitcher to win that award was
Justin Mastersonin July 2007.
McGrath was 2-0 with a 0.24
earned run average in sixstarts. The 25-year-old Austra-
lian did not allow an earned
run in five of those starts.
McGrath, who was signed in
2012, is 3-0 with a 1.46 ERA in
22 games, 10 of themstarts,
this season... The Yankees
placed outfielderAaronHicks
on the injured list with a flexor
strain in his right elbow. He
was injuredmaking a throw in
the secondgame on Saturday.
Hicks will be shut downfrom
throwing for 7-10 daysPeterAbraham canbe reached
at [email protected].
Follow him on Twitter
@PeteAbe.REDSOX
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