NEW YORK — For the Red Sox to go far in October, they’ll likely need major offensive contributions from Wilyer Abreu, Masataka Yoshida and Nathaniel Lowe. Yet as a short series starts Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, all three are on the bench.
In Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against lefty ace Max Fried and the Yankees on Monday, manager Alex Cora opted to start Nate Eaton in right field and Nick Sogard at second base with lefty-masher Rob Refsnyder, not the hot-hitting Yoshida, as the designated hitter. Boston will send out eight righties (including the switch-hitting Sogard) as well as left fielder Jarren Duran to start the game. Eaton and Sogard are not the biggest names on Boston’s 26-man roster. Yet they’ll be tasked with starting Boston’s biggest game of the season.
“We’re not gonna change what we do,” said Cora, hours before the game. “We’ve been platooning the whole time. When they bring the righties, the lefties are gonna be ready. They only have one lefty in the bullpen (Tim Hill) so we’ll manage accordingly.
“We’ve been doing this the whole season. We are not going to change.”
Abreu made just eight starts against lefties in the regular season, has a career .589 OPS against southpaws and has looked a bit lost at the plate since returning from the injured list last weekend, going 3-for-22 in seven games. With a small right field in front of the short porch in the Bronx, the Red Sox are comfortable the speedy Eaton can handle the position. Eaton has also shown something with the bat, hitting .370 with an .898 OPS in 51 September plate appearances.
Lowe, a power threat who had some big hits for the Sox down the stretch, has a .504 OPS, so he’s out of the lineup with Romy Gonzalez shifting from second base to first base and Sogard starting at second. To Cora, that was a simple call. Sogard has limited big league experience (he started just 24 games for the Sox all year) but was 13-for-35 (.371) with an .857 OPS against lefties in the regular season.
“I think he’s hitting like .400 against lefties,” Cora said.
Yoshida was likely the toughest call of the bunch after hitting .333 with two homers, five doubles, 13 RBIs and an .837 OPS in 77 September plate appearances. He has started just four times against lefties all year, though, and has hit only .237 with a .650 OPS against southpaws in his career. He is also not an option defensively.
The Red Sox started Eaton and Sogard against Fried in a win on September 13, though that lineup didn’t include Duran (Refsnyder played left field and catcher Carlos Narváez was the DH). Duran struggled against lefties this year (.600 OPS) but the Red Sox trust his defense in a spacious left field and think his on-base potential can make an impact.
Duran is hitting seventh.
“Playing J.D. makes sense because of left field and having Garrett on the mound. So we bet on the defense, and the last swing against the sinker in Tampa (off tough lefty Garrett Cleavinger) was a good one. Hopefully we can get one of those and see what happens.”
Fried, who will garner Cy Young votes after a strong first season with the Yankees, has slight reverse splits this year, with lefties (.674 OPS) getting to him slightly more than righties (.598). Cora said the Red Sox believe a poor August 16 outing against St. Louis, in which Fried was tagged for seven runs on eight hits (including two homers), skewed that number.
“He had one bad game against lefties,” Cora said. “It was against the Cardinals. They hit him hard. Besides that, he has been dominating against lefties and righties.”
Cora caused some to raise their eyebrows with his decision to start unheralded, inexperienced players like Eaton and Sogard over more established options like Lowe (a World Series champion), Yoshida (who is on a $90 million contract) and Abreu (a Gold Glover who finished second on the team in homers with 22). But Cora is comfortable with the options at his disposal — and said he will likely construct a similar lineup in Game 2 when another lefty, Carlos Rodón, starts for New York.
“We have been doing this since ’18,” he said. “A lot of people think that that team was nine guys and that’s it. We platoon behind the plate. We platoon at first. We platoon at second. We platoon at third. Shortstop plays every day. Left field plays every day. Outfield plays every day. We mix and match.”
“I would love to have nine horses and roll with them. That’s not the case. We have to manage the team. We have a good team. We will mix and match. We will be doing the things we have been doing throughout the season. Let’s see where we are at at the end of the night.”
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
