For a team that still is without their ace, the Boston Red Sox have a plethora of options when it comes to starting pitchers. And over the next few games, manager Alex Cora plans to make use of them.
Before Wednesday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Cora previewed the rotation for upcoming action.
He said Tanner Houck, Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi and Martin Perez would each start in the upcoming series against the New York Yankees, and Nick Pivetta and Garrett Richards -- who is starting Wednesday -- will get the ball when the Blue Jays visit Fenway on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
Cora teased the idea of a six-man rotation coming out of the All-Star break, but the team hasn't had to put it into action just yet since both of their recent series have been shortened by one game -- against the Yankees for COVID-19 issues and against the Blue Jays due to inclement weather.
Tuesday's postponement against Toronto spoiled the first scheduled start for Houck since he rejoined the Red Sox last week. Houck was slated to take the hill Wednesday, but Richards will throw instead, since he was supposed to start Tuesday.
Either way, Houck will still make a start -- just a day later, against the team's biggest rival. But the Yankees weren't a problem for him when he got the ball in relief Friday: He tossed three scoreless innings, striking out three and giving up one hit.
Thursday will mark Houck's third start of the year and his fifth outing. Cora said upon his recall that Houck would serve in a hybrid role, so another game against the Yankees will be a true test of whether or not that will work as planned.
