Alex Cora Made This Joke To Kaleb Ort Before First MLB Start

Kaleb Ort probably was not expecting to pitch at all for the Red Sox this weekend, let alone start a game for Boston.

Ort was not on the Red Sox’s active roster as of June 6 when Boston sent the right-hander down to Triple A-Worcester. But Ort was brought back up to the big leagues Sunday in wake of Tanner Houck landing on the 15-day injured list due to a facial fracture. Not only was an active roster spot waiting for Ort at Fenway Park, but so too was a new opportunity.

Saturday’s rain-out prompted Alex Cora to adjust his pitching plans for the final two contests of the three-game set against the New York Yankees. With a doubleheader set for Sunday, the Red Sox manager assigned Brayan Bello to the nightcap and bumped James Paxton’s next start to Monday in Minnesota. That left a vacancy for the Game 1 starter, ultimately filled by Ort.

Before the matinee matchup, Cora set expectations for Ort, who entered Sunday without a big league start to his name. But the Sox skipper didn’t do so without letting a joke fly.

“I was joking with him, five and dive. That’d be great,” manager Alex Cora told reporters, per MassLive. “Hopefully, two.”

Ort ended up going a little more than two, tossing 2 1/3 frames before Cora came out of the dugout with the hook. The 31-year-old only allowed two hits, but one was a 415-foot, two-run bomb off the bat of Gleyber Torres.

Replacing Ort was Chris Murphy, who the Red Sox named their 27th man for the twin bill against the Yankees.