Red Sox Notebook: Desperate for offense, Alex Cora uses most aggressive lineup to date

With the season on the line, Red Sox manager Alex Cora is going back to his team’s strengths.

Doing little to help his team’s terrible defense, the Sox manager put two designated hitters in the outfield.

“We have to find offense,” Cora said. “That’s why it’s a radical move.”

The Red Sox began their final series of the season on Friday in Washington, where there will be no DH. Cora took Alex Verdugo and Jose Iglesias out of the lineup in favor of a different look that includes all of the Sox’ most potent power hitters.

The lineup was as follows: Kiké Hernandez at second, Kyle Schwarber in left, Xander Bogaerts at short, Rafael Devers at third, J.D. Martinez in right, Hunter Renfroe in center, Bobby Dalbec at first, Christian Vazquez catching and Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound.

“We’re going with the big boys in the outfield.,” Cora said. “Trying to get, I’ll put it this way, instant offense. I think it’s the best offensive alignment that we can put out, obviously. It’s not the rangiest outfield but they make plays… They’ll make good decisions.

“The hope is for the offense to wake up. That’s the most important thing. As you guys know, yeah we can pitch, we know that. But we are an offensive team and we are struggling offensively right now. Putting all these guys there, the hope is to score a lot of runs. If we’re patient and we don’t chase pitches around the zone, we feel like that’ll be the case tonight.”

It’s just the fourth time all year Renfroe has been in center, and the fifth time Martinez has been in right.

There’s no question it leaves the Red Sox exposed on the defensive end. All three outfielders have below-average range. But the Sox scored just 10 runs in three games against an Orioles team that has allowed six runs a game this year.

Cora has tried to get his team to play better defense all season and it hasn’t happened. So he’s all-in on the offense as the Sox’ final hope to lock up a playoff spot.

He’s going as far as to consider Dalbec at second base. Cora said he told Dalbec to work out at second base a month ago and he’ll consider using him there at some point this weekend.

“Just trying to stay as ready as possible,” the manager said. “National League game, there are a lot of things that can happen. We have Iggy, we have Christian Arroyo, but you never know. (Dalbec) is a good athlete.”

Unlucky in Baltimore

Looking back at the Orioles series, the Red Sox offense was an enigma.

They appeared impatient at the plate, often swinging early in the count, but the numbers indicate otherwise. They swung just 45% of the time, well below league average, and made contact 83% of the time, well above league average. The contact was just too often on the ground and at the defenders.

“We got some pitches to hit but we didn’t hit them hard,” Cora said. “There were some big swings in certain situations and others we were behind in the count and just put it in play, especially to the left side. There were a lot of groundballs throughout the series and we don’t do that often.

“We have to make sure we get pitches in the zone and start hitting them in the air.”

All hands on deck

The Sox will likely have to win all three, or two of three with some help, to make the playoffs. Because of it, Cora said he’s talking about putting Nick Pivetta and Nathan Eovaldi in the bullpen at some point this series.

“We’ll talk about it,” he said. “We’re lined up for Chris (Sale) on Sunday if needed, and we’ll see where we’re at tomorrow. Let’s play tonight and see who we use, and then we’ll make decisions accordingly.”

The Sox still haven’t named a starter for Saturday.

Odds and ends

Garrett Whitlock could be activated in time for Saturday or Sunday’s game, depending how he feels after throwing on Thursday. He’s been on the injured list with a pectoral strain…

Josh Taylor still hasn’t begun baseball activities and remains sidelined with a sore back. It doesn’t sound likely he’ll be back before the regular season ends.

“It hasn’t progressed the way we thought,” Cora said…

Thursday, reliever Matt Barnes made his 384th appearance with the Red Sox, passing Roger Clemens and moving into a tie with Derek Lowe for fifth all-time in club history…

The Red Sox are 22-3 when Martinez hits a home run.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3B1VEyR