What Alex Cora Told Kyle Barraclough Before Disaster Inning Vs. Astros

Kyle Barraclough had to take one for the team Monday night at Fenway Park.

Barraclough was quickly thrust into big league action after he was recalled to the Red Sox before the series opener against the Houston Astros. After starter Chris Sale couldn’t log the final out of the fifth inning, it was Barraclough who got Boston out of the frame with the visitors leading by one run.

The Red Sox proceeded to take the lead on a two-run home run from Adam Duvall, but with so many relievers unavailable, Barraclough was forced to stay in the game. And as manager Alex Cora made clear to the right-hander, a hook probably wasn’t coming for him any time soon — if at all.

“When I came in after I got that out (to end the fifth), (Cora) said, ‘It’s your game, so go back out there and grind through it,'” Barraclough told reporters, per MassLive. “Like I said, I did everything I could possibly do to help that and on top of that, they hit some balls hard. That’s just the way it goes.”

The Astros certainly did hit the ball hard off Barraclough, who surrendered 10 earned runs on 11 hits with five walks over the final 4 1/3 innings of Boston’s 13-5 loss to Houston. Although the 33-year-old acknowledged he “pitched like crap,” he was happy with the job of keeping his fellow Red Sox relievers fresh and ready to go for the remainder of the series.

Boston will try to bounce back in Tuesday’s middle game. NESN’s full coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET.