How Activations Of Hirokazu Sawamura, Austin Davis Will Help Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox activated a pair of bullpen arms before their three-game series against the Seattle Mariners started Monday night.

Hirokazu Sawamura returned to the roster after a stint on the COVID-19 Injured Reserve list while Austin Davis was back after being placed on the paternity list last week. Sawamura has not pitched in a game since Aug. 28.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora is happy to have some much-needed additions join Boston’s bullpen.

“It helps. Obviously the swing and miss stuff and what Davis has done against lefties is very important, especially in this series with the (Seattle) lefties. We’ll be able to mix and match,” Cora said. “And Sawamura, like I said before, obviously we hate the fact we miss him for X amount of days, but probably recharge, reset and hopefully his fastball-split combination get some swings and misses.”

The right-handed Sawamura has compiled a 3.09 ERA across 46 2/3 innings this season. Davis, a left-hander acquired at the trade deadline, has a 4.61 ERA during his 13 2/3 inning for Boston.