Nate Eovaldi explained why his jersey number mysteriously changed during the Red Sox opener
"I was like, 'I thought it felt a little tight on my arms.'"
Red Sox pitcher Nate Eovaldi was practically unimpeachable during his Opening Day start Friday night.
Through six innings of work, the flame-throwing right-hander allowed just five hits and one run in the 13-2 win. Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke told reporters that Eovaldi did “exactly what he wanted.”
However, he did make one particularly unusual mistake.
During the top of the third inning, No. 17 returned to the mound with something missing — namely, the first digit of his uniform number.
Nathan Eovaldi just changed his jersey number mid-game? pic.twitter.com/45RMcxp8VT
— Cut4 (@Cut4) July 25, 2020
Eovaldi gave no indication why he was mysteriously wearing No. 7 — the same number as batterymate and catcher Christian Vázquez — and went on to pitch a one-two-three inning.
The sudden unexplained change prompted jokes and theories from fans on social media during the game. And by the forth inning, Eovaldi had switched back to No. 17.
After the win, Eovaldi explained that he had gone to change into a fresh jersey during humid summer night. However, he wasn’t the only one who had brought a spare.
“So I guess Vázquez and I both sweat a lot so we had the jerseys hanging down in the batting cage,” Eovaldi told reporters, per MLB.com.
“I didn’t realize his were down there, too,” he continued. “I glanced over and saw the No. 7, thought it was mine ,and grabbed it off the hanger, threw it on. And once I came back through the dugout [after finishing the third inning], they were like, ‘Atta boy, Vazqyy!’ I was like, ‘What?’ They were like, ‘You have his jersey on.’ I was like, ‘I thought it felt a little tight on my arms,’ but it’s all good.”
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