Boston Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, a hero in relief even as he lost Game 3 of the 2018 World Series, will not make his scheduled start Wednesday at Sahlen Field because of a calf issue.
Eovaldi's calf tightened over the weekend while he was long tossing in Baltimore and the team is pushing him back to Saturday. Colton Brewer will take his place against the Toronto Blue Jays, who have not named a starter.
"Right now we're just being careful," Eovaldi said before Tuesday's series opener. "I didn't even try to throw my bullpen. Just playing catch, I can feel it a little. We're trying to take this as safe as possible. I felt it grab a couple of times so it was enough for me to say something."
Eovaldi (2-2, 4.98) set the record for the most pitches in a Series game from a reliever when he threw 97 over the final six innings of Boston's 18-inning marathon at Los Angeles. The Sox lost the game on a walkoff home run by Max Muncy, as Eovaldi became the first reliever to go at least six innings in the Fall Classic since Rick Rhoden did it for the Dodgers in 1977.
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Eovaldi signed a four-year, $68 million contract with the Sox less than two months later. He went 2-1, 5.99 in 23 outings for the Sox last year as he struggled through elbow surgery and spent several weeks working out of the bullpen.
Long time, no see
Tuesday's game marked the first time the Red Sox were in Buffalo since a 9-7 win over the Bisons in an exhibition game at Buffalo Baseball Park, later known as Offermann Stadium, on July 6, 1917. A 22-year-old Babe Ruth went 24-13 with a 2.01 ERA while making 38 starts as a pitcher. At the plate, Ruth batted .325 with two home runs for the Sox, who were defending World Series champions at the time.
It was the first MLB game in Buffalo for a Boston team since the Beaneaters, the forerunners of the Boston Braves, played the Bisons in 1885. That was the final year Buffalo was in the National League.
First pitch of first #Redsox game in Buffalo since 1917: A ball from Chase Anderson to Alex Verdugo. #Bluejays pic.twitter.com/HYILNmcolr
— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) August 25, 2020
Social media guffaws
Some AL East humor on Twitter a few minutes before Tuesday's game: The Red Sox official feed tweeted a picture taken from behind home plate with the notation, "Hey @Bluejays, the roof looks good open" in a reference to Rogers Centre in Toronto.
The Jays' feed responded with a GIF file of Spongebob Squarepants saying "Wooow" and the question, "Beautiful, ain't it?" But the Tampa Bay Rays' feed responded to both teams with the words "stop lyin' " accompanying a picture from the club level of the monsoon that suspended their visit here Aug. 15.
Hey @BlueJays, the roof looks good open. pic.twitter.com/O5Unsi7Jps
— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 25, 2020
stop lyin’ pic.twitter.com/oJMg07uCCd
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 25, 2020
Around the horn
Red Sox starter Kyle Hart's third big-league start went no better than his first two as he gave up six runs on eight hits over 3 1/3 innings and walked three. He's given up 13 runs on 17 hits over nine innings, posting a 13.00 ERA. ... Toronto closer Ken Giles, who went down with elbow soreness after two outings, threw a bullpen session here Tuesday on his road back. Starter Nate Pearson (flexor strain) is expected to do likewise here this weekend. ... Tuesday was going to be the first time in 30 days all 30 clubs in the big leagues were in action with no rainouts, postponements due to positive Covid-19 tests or schedule issues of teams connected to those positives. But then the Yankees' game at Atlanta got rained out. The Yankees, who haven't played since Thursday, will try again with a doubleheader Wednesday.
