Tied up at 1-1 and heading back to Boston, Alex Cora’s Red Sox have been left to decide between Eduardo Rodriguez and Nick Pivetta for Monday’s Game 3 at Fenway Park. And it appears that it will be the former getting the call for Boston.
“We feel like Eddie is throwing the ball well [and] Nick is throwing the ball well,” Cora said Sunday. “But somebody has to start.
“I think Eddie did a good job in the last one. The first one in Tampa, it was more about where we were bullpen-wise and we took him out very aggressively, of course, with two outs in the second, but I think the last one with command and the stuff, he was really good. We feel comfortable with him going tomorrow.”
The 28-year-old Rodriguez is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in 6.2 innings of work, but was much better in Game 4 of the ALDS as noted by Cora, with six strikeouts and two earned runs on three hits over five innings of work.
A 30-game starter during the regular season, Pivetta has thrown 8.2 innings out of the bullpen this postseason, with 11 strikeouts and three earned runs over that stretch, and with batters hitting .226 against him. Going to the lefty Rodriguez out of the gate Monday will not keep Pivetta in the dugout, however, as the Red Sox are considering Pivetta an option out of the pen should the situation call for it.
“If we stay away from Nick [in Game 3], most likely Nick is going to start Game 4,” Cora said. “But if we feel like we should use him, we will.
“We’ll see where it takes us.”
The Red Sox are 3-0 at Fenway Park this postseason.
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