Red Sox not ready to announce starting pitching plans beyond Sale in Game 1 of ALDS

Maybe it was a case of gamesmanship, of not wanting to tip his hand too soon. But on the final day of the Red Sox’ regular season, with the Red Sox playoff opponent and location already known, John Farrell wouldn’t commit to any starting pitchers beyond the obvious choice of Chris Sale for Game 1 of the American League Division Series.

“Nothing to announce yet beyond Chris,’’ said Farrell. “We’ve got to have some further talks internally.’’

It had long been assumed that lefty Drew Pomeranz would be the choice as the Game 2 starter. After all, Pomeranz tied Sale for the most wins on the staff with 17 and posted a 3.32 ERA with 173.2 innings pitched.

Given that Pomeranz showed signs of being tired in two of his last three starts – though his velocity was closer to normal on Saturday when he pitched into the seventh, allowed just one run and consistently hit 92 mph with his fastball – the Sox may want to buy his some additional rest. Holding him back until Game 3 on Sunday would give him seven days off between starts.

But the fact that the Astros were 21-23 against lefty starters (while going 79-38 against righties) would seem to further argue for Pomeranz in Game 2, since, with the option of going to Eduardo Rodriguez in Game 4 and Sale again in Game 5, the Sox could potentially force the Astros to face lefties in four of the five ALDS games.

But Farrell and the Red Sox may be at least considering some adjustments. It could be that the Red Sox would rather pitch Rick Porcello on the road rather than Game 3 at Fenway. Porcello was far more effective on the road than he was at home. At Fenway, he had a 5.43 ERA, while his road ERA was 3.67. His home WHIP was 1.518 compared to 1.246 on the road.

His 38 homers allowed would be particularly worrisome at Fenway. Then again, Porcello pitched at Minute Maid Park on June 17 and wasn’t effective, allowing 10 hits and seven runs in just six innings, including two homers. And Porcello had almost as much trouble giving up gopher balls on the road (18) as he did at home (20) – while pitching 22.2 fewer innings on the road.

Two other scenarios would seem far-fetched: having Doug Fister bump a presume starter; or using Rodriguez in Game 2 with Pomeranz in Game 3 and Porcello in Game 4.

Fister could be a valuable long relief asset in the event one of the starters is knocked out of a game early, and Farrell made a point of saying that the rotation’s struggles in the final week – when four straight starters yielded five earned runs – might mean the Sox would do well to have a long-man in the post-season.

In the second scenario, the Sox would be pitching Rodriguez ahead of Pomeranz, while still taking the risk of exposing Porcello to Fenway rather than a road ballpark.