FORT MYERS, Fla. — Thursday brought a couple of firsts to the Boston Red Sox.
Jake Peavy made his spring training debut, and manager John Farrell challenged a play for the first time as the Boston Red Sox squeaked past the Minnesota Twins 4-3 at Hammond Stadium.
Let’s not waste any time in unloading the notebook.
— Peavy allowed one run on two hits while striking out two and walking two. He threw 53 pitches. The right-hander said after his outing he was “pleasantly surprised” with how the ball felt coming out of his hand in his first spring start.
“It was nice to ramp up the intensity a little bit more than I had been,” said Peavy, who also faced one batter in the fourth inning before exiting. “Getting up and down four times was big for me. I think that was a nice way to go out there.”
— Peavy, whose first spring start was pushed back because of a laceration on his left hand he suffered during a fishing knife accident, used his normal glove, although he needed to be even more attentive than usual when catching balls thrown back by the catcher.
— So will Peavy be ready for the beginning of the regular season?
“I know I will (be ready). Yes, sir. Lord willing nothing happens from here on out,” Peavy said. “I’m going to stay away from knives, and I’ll see you on Opening Day.”
— Peavy debuted a new splitter he said was partly inspired by Koji Uehara’s success last season.
— Dustin Pedroia showed life offensively, going 2-for-3 with a single and a two-run double.
— Shane Victorino went 2-for-3 with an RBI single in his second game. He again batted right-handed against right-handed pitchers.
— Will Middlebrooks went 1-for-3, and Farrell said after the game the third baseman is looking very confident in the batter’s box.
— Andrew Miller struggled mightily upon relieving Peavy in the fourth inning. The lefty showed erratic command while surrendering two runs on two hits and one walk in just one-third of an inning.
— Mike Napoli thought he had his third home run of spring training. Instead, his big blast was ruled foul. Umpires couldn’t find any evidence to overturn the call during video review.
Napoli actually rounded the bases before learning of the bad news. Also, taller foul poles at Hammond Stadium probably would help with such calls. Just a thought.
— Farrell challenged a play in the sixth inning. He lost.
— Brandon Workman struck out three over three shutout innings.
— Francisco Cordero continued his strong spring with a perfect ninth inning. Cordero hasn’t allowed a run in five innings while giving up just three hits and striking out six.
-Grady Sizemore played five innings in center field during a Single-A game Thursday. He went 1-for-2 with a single and a walk in three plate appearances.
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