Injuries have Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora scrambling to find an optimal lineup arrangement.
Cora settled on Roman Anthony as his leadoff hitter before the rookie outfielder suffered an oblique injury. The skipper has used three different players in the No. 1 spot in each of Boston’s last three games without Anthony.
Nate Eaton got the first crack against a left-handed pitcher on Friday, and Jarren Duran returned to his old spot on Friday. Cora tried something different on Saturday, starting Masataka Yoshida in the leadoff role for the first time in his MLB career.
Cora explained his rationale before the 5-1 loss, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo.
“He had a good game the other day,” Cora said of Yoshida, who had three hits on Tuesday. “Trying to keep Jarren, Trevor (Story) and Nate (Lowe) together. Run producers. They’ve been good with runners in scoring position and all that stuff. So we’ll give it a shot and see what happens.”
Yoshida hasn’t produced like a table-setter since returning from a shoulder injury in July. The 32-year-old is batting .242/.294/.355 in 37 games after going 1-for-4 and driving in Boston’s lone run on Saturday.
Yet Yoshida could offer a solution if he plays up to his career .293/.345/.448 slash line against right-handed pitching. Cotillo also noted that Yoshida entered Saturday’s game with a .333 batting average when leading off an inning, a fact that encouraged Cora to move the designated hitter up the lineup card.
Yoshida looked like a potential odd-man-out before the Red Sox traded Rafael Devers, but injuries to Anthony and Wilyer Abreu now make him a pivotal piece of the puzzle. Cora considers it crucial to get Yoshida right this month.
“It’s very important,” Cora said. “This is a guy we envisioned as a great hitter. When he’s locked in, he hits the ball hard and he gets on base at a high rate. That’s what we expect.”
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