Alex Cora Reveals Message To Jackie Bradley Jr. Before Pitching Vs. Yankees

For the first time in his Major League Baseball career, Jackie Bradley Jr. found himself on the pitcher’s mound for the Red Sox on Friday night.

It wasn’t under the best circumstances considering Boston was down 11-5 to the New York Yankees when the outfielder was asked if he could pitch in order to rest the relievers with a bullpen game set for Saturday.

Bradley hit 92 mph on the radar gun and gave up a run in his inning of work. He did pitch in high school, so it wasn’t like he never stepped foot on the mound prior to the 12-5 loss at Fenway Park.

DJ LeMahieu accounted for Bradley’s lone strikeout, and the latter is hopeful the former batting champ will sign the ball.

“I struck out a former American League and National League batting champion,” Bradley told reporters after the game, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “I’ll try to get him to sign it.

“I was asked with, I think, one out in the bottom of the eighth. It was like a last-minute, so I just tried to throw about 10-15 balls before going out there.”

Manager Alex Cora revealed his lone message to the outfielder-turned-pitcher.

“I talked to him and was like, ‘Bro, be careful,'” he said, per Browne. “He’s like, ‘I’m going to throw hard,’ and he did throw hard. But he changed speeds, used a slider, and got a strikeout, had a few two-strike counts.”

Hopefully the Red Sox find themselves in a better position Saturday than they were Friday. First pitch from Fenway Park is set for 7:15 p.m. ET. You can catch game on FOX.