Don’t look now, but the Boston Red Sox are rolling.
Yes, it almost certainly will be too little, too late, but Saturday’s 3-1 victory over the National League East-leading New York Mets was Boston’s third straight win and 10th in their last 15 games.
The opposing starters for those three games? Three guys named Chris Sale, Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom.
“I think we came up with a really good game plan (Saturday) against deGrom,” acting Red Sox manager Lovullo told reporters, as aired on “Red Sox Extra Innings LIVE,” after the Red Sox handed last year’s NL Rookie of the Year his first loss since July 2.
“We struggled through it the first two times through the order, and then we just kind of broke through piece by piece. We know that he’s a very capable pitcher — one of the best in the league — and we were just going to chip away at him. That was kind of our game plan. And it took a little while, but we did it.”
deGrom no-hit the Red Sox for four innings before giving up a hit and a walk in the fifth and cracking in the sixth, allowing Boston to plate the eventual winning runs on a run-scoring double by Pablo Sandoval and an RBI groundout by Brock Holt.
Let’s take a look at some additional notes from Saturday:
— David Ortiz did not start the game as he nursed a sore heel. He did pinch-hit in the ninth inning, however, and roped a double off Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon, who was making his first relief appearance since 2011.
Ortiz was replaced by a pinch-runner, but Lovullo said he’s confident the slugger will be in the starting lineup for Sunday’s series finale at Citi Field.
— With rookie left-handers Eduardo Rodriguez and Henry Owens both approaching their innings limits — with Rodriguez closer to his limit than Owens — Lovullo told reporters before the game the team could employ a six-man rotation down the stretch in an effort to avoid shutting either young arm down for the season.
“We want to monitor the workload of our younger pitchers,” Lovullo said, via MassLive.com. “(Owens) is in a great rhythm. He’s throwing the ball well. We don’t want that to stop. So we may give them a day or two longer in between starts but to make a decision to where we’re going to shut them down, that’s not in the cards. We just want to give them a little rest, monitor the workload, and continue this role that they’re on.”
The Red Sox skipped Rodriguez in their last turn through the rotation. The 22-year-old is expected to start Monday against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park.
Also, with rosters expanding Sept. 1, Boston would have the space to recall a starter from Triple-A Pawtucket if they so choose.
Thumbnail photo via Anthony Gruppuso/USA TODAY Sports Images
