Red Sox remove Garrett Richards from Division Series roster, Matt Barnes to replace him

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Garrett Richards only tossed three pitches in Game 1 of the Division Series on Thursday night, but will not be throwing again this series.

Richards was removed from the Red Sox’ Division Series roster prior to Game 2 on Friday night due to a left hamstring strain.

To replace him on the roster, All-Star Matt Barnes was activated off the taxi squad.

Richards had been a nice weapon out of relief since he was moved to the bullpen in mid-August, posting a 3.42 ERA and holding opponents to a .659 OPS in 26-1/3 innings. He was the first pitcher called upon to replace starter Eduardo Rodriguez on Thursday and needed just three pitches to retire Randy Arozarena, who ended up being the star of the game.

But Richards never went back out for another inning and was replaced by Nick Pivetta.

Barnes was a surprise omission from the roster for this series, particularly how well he’s pitched against the Rays over his career. Current Rays hitters have just a .161 average against Barnes. But the flame-throwing right-hander has struggled since the start of August, with a 9.26 ERA and 1.051 OPS against over 11-2/3 innings in that span.

If the Red Sox were to advance to the ALCS, Richards would not be eligible to pitch.

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