Asked if it was disciplinary, Cora said he wanted to keep it between him and Narváez.
“And he understands,” Cora said. “And it’s something that happens in every club. It just happens to be early in the season, and I think it’s the right thing to do.”
For days, the Red Sox planned for Narváez to be behind the plate for ace Garrett Crochet. That changed about 2½ hours before first pitch at Daikin Park, when the Red Sox revealed a new lineup that included Connor Wong at catcher and Narváez among the backups.
Get Starting Point
Wong also played Tuesday night, making his start in the day game unusual.
“This is a decision I made, and we’re going to go,” Cora said. “Wonger is ready. He’s caught him before. We’re fine. It’s a day after night game; it is what it is.”
Also out of the lineup against righthander Mike Burrows: left fielder Roman Anthony, who was 1 for his last 17 with 10 strikeouts, and second baseman Marcelo Mayer, who was hitless in his last 11 plate appearances with five strikeouts.
“It’s a good time for [Anthony to sit out]. He’s going to, like, reset, take advantage,” Cora said. “I think he’s just late, to be honest. You’re late, then you feel rushed, and you can see him missing two-seamers under, and that doesn’t happen very often. So let’s get back to basics … When the lows come, he just stays calm.”
And Mayer?
“Same thing,” Cora said. “I think [Tuesday], towards the end — the last two at-bats, he was late on fastballs.”
Jarren Duran filled in for Anthony in left, with Masataka Yoshida getting another start at DH. Isiah Kiner-Falefa played second base.
“We [have] to play Izzy,” Cora said. “As a utility player, I know how tough it is. If you play once every 10 days, that’s not going to help. It’s not going to make him better. It’s not going to make us better.”
Casas delayed
Triston Casas suffered a setback in the form of a strained left intercostal, a muscle connected to the ribs, and is shut down from hitting activities until symptoms subside, the Red Sox announced.
He has not had an MRI and instead the team will wait to see how he progresses in the coming days.
Although Casas still is rehabbing his left knee after surgery last May, this injury is separate from that, Cora said.
“We have to slow it down,” Cora said. “Nothing related to the knee. He’s doing well, but this happened swinging, so we have to shut him down swinging-wise for I don’t know how long.
“[Red Sox medical people] didn’t seem too concerned about it, but understanding everything that he’s been through the last few years, you have to be careful.”
In 2024, Casas tore cartilage in his rib cage, also on the left side. That sidelined him for four months.
Last year, he tore the patellar tendon in his left knee, which cost him the final five months of the season.
Some good news
Better news on the injury front: Lefthander Patrick Sandoval (Tommy John surgery in 2024) will begin a rehabilitation assignment Sunday with Double-A Portland, the team said.
Righthander Kutter Crawford (knee and wrist problems last year) is a tad behind Sandoval but is on pace to pitch in minor league games this month, Cora said.
Cora’s mea culpa
The morning after home plate umpire Mark Wegner accepted responsibility for forgetting the count during Cam Smith’s plate appearance against Brayan Bello — turning what should have been a three-pitch strikeout into a nine-pitch, three-ball walk — Cora did the same.
“That’s on us. We have to be better than that. I take full blame of that,” Cora said. “Yeah, the umpire missed it, but there’s a system. We can actually ask for a count check, but we didn’t do it.”
The Red Sox, umpires, and Smith got distracted by a two-strike play on which the Sox committed two errors on a stolen base. When play resumed, nobody seemed to know the count.
“A lot of things happened, right? And [the count] was the last thing I was thinking,” Cora said. “Everybody was confused over there, but in the dugout, we weren’t confused. We missed it.”
Bastardo returns
The Blue Jays returned minor league righthander Angel Bastardo to the Red Sox. Bastardo, 23, was selected by Toronto in the Rule 5 draft prior to the 2025 season — which he missed because of Tommy John surgery. Now healthy, Bastardo still was subject to the Rule 5 rules, but the Jays didn’t want to carry him on the roster. Back in the Sox’ farm system he goes … Cora suggested the Red Sox have to “take the emotional part” out of their automated ball-strike challenge system decisions. Ceddanne Rafaela, reputed for his suboptimal knowledge of the strike zone, lost a challenge on the first pitch of his at-bat in the third inning Tuesday. “Sometimes it’s even like, play it without thinking that there’s a system until later in the game,” Cora said. “Just play it straightforward.”
Tim Healey can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @timbhealey.
