Boston Red Sox skipper Alex Cora had Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman getting ready in the eighth inning on Tuesday. Garrett Crochet gave up a single to Anthony Volpe with one out, but Cora kept Crochet in to face Ben Rice.
Rice fought through the at-bat before finally succumbing on the 117th and last pitch of Crochet’s appearance. With the right-handed batter Jose Caballero stepping up, Cora intriguingly brought in Aroldis Chapman, who got a flyout to conclude the inning.
Cora remained with his reliever in the ninth inning, and Chapman recorded the save. However, it was not free of challenges. All three of the initial batters hit singles, filling the bases without any outs. Even in a tough spot, the Red Sox kept the bullpen mound vacant and relied on Chapman for the game
Chapman fanned Giancarlo Stanton and caused Jazz Chisholm to fly out for the inning’s first two outs. He subsequently retired Austin Wells to secure the 3-1 win for the Red Sox. Though Aaron Judge was the only one to hit the ball hard against Chapman, it was intriguing to note that Cora didn’teven have Whitlock get ready for a possible outing. It was entirely a component of his strategy, however.
“They have a few strong left-handed hitters available on the bench,” Cora mentioned. “We discussed it during our preparation today prior to the game.” “Our left-handed pitchers are quite strong — Wilson, Chapman, and Matz — and if we can find a way to maintain their right-handed hitters in the lineup while minimizing opportunities, we will.”
Ben Rice was the most prominent southpaw on the Yankees’ bench. He recorded an .836 OPS and hit 26 home runs this season, but never played in a game because the Red Sox relied solely on left-handed pitchers. Chisholm began the match on the sidelines and had one at-bat, but did not get the chance to face a right-handed pitcher
On Wednesday, the Yankees will get the opportunity to utilize their left-handed pitchers as Brayan Bello takes the mound for the Red Sox. Although he has performed well against New York this season, Cora probably won’t offer him the same level of tolerance that Crochet received. If given the chance, the Red Sox manager could attempt to pressure Aaron Boone into taking out one of his left-handed pitchers by bringing in Matz or Wilson. Payton Tolle might also turn out to be an unexpected ex-factor
