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A day after starting, Nathan Eovaldi available to pitch out of the bullpen in Game 4
Manager Alex Cora shared that Eovaldi offered to pitch an inning in Game 4.
It’s all hands on deck for the Red Sox in Game 4 of the ALDS.
That includes potentially pitching Nathan Eovaldi, who started in Game 3 just one day prior. Following Sunday’s win over the Rays, Eovaldi made himself available to pitch in Game 4 out of the bullpen, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters on Monday.
“Nate stopped by last night after the game. He was like, ‘Hey, man. I’ve got one [inning] tomorrow,’” Cora said. “I was like, ‘Just put your spikes on and whatever. Even if we don’t use you.’ I think it means a lot to these guys, the willingness of these players to post now when it counts. So we’ll see where it goes. We’ll see how we’re going to match up.”
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Eovaldi got a fair amount of work in Game 3, throwing 85 pitches over five innings. After giving up a two-run home run to Austin Meadows in the first, Eovaldi was sharp for the final four innings of the start. He ended the day giving up two runs on three hits, one walk, and eight strikeouts.
During the 2018 World Series run, most of Eovaldi’s appearances during the postseason came out of the bullpen. His most notable came in Game 3 of the 2018 World Series, pitching six innings out of the bullpen in an 18-inning loss to the Dodgers in which he gave up just one earned run.
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In Eovaldi’s three other appearances out of the bullpen during the 2018 playoffs, he didn’t allow a run over 3 1/3 innings pitched.
Even after using six pitchers out of the bullpen in Sunday’s Game 3, Cora said everyone is available for Game 4. But with a potential series-deciding Game 5 looming, Cora admitted he would like to save some pitchers.
“There’s a few guys we will try to stay away from,” Cora said. “But the game will dictate how we do it. Obviously, we’ve got two shots. But we like the one shot tonight. And if we get a chance to be aggressive and go for the win, we’ll do it.”
Cora’s shown a tendency to be aggressive using his bullpen during the playoffs in the past. Up 2-1 against the Yankees in the 2018 ALDS, Cora used Chris Sale — who likely would’ve been the Game 5 starter that year — out of the bullpen, pitching him when the Red Sox had a lead in the eighth in Game 4.
As for their Game 4 starter, Cora’s hoping for Eduardo Rodriguez to give them a better outing than he did in Game 1 — in which the lefty pitched only 1 2/3 innings, giving up two runs.
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“Eddie is the bulk guy,” Cora said. “We need Eddie to go deep into the game. We’ve got our options. It’s just a matter of see where we’re at and where the game is.”
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