FORT MYERS, Fla. --
WHO: Red Sox vs. Yankees
WHEN: 1:05 p.m.
WHERE: jetBlue Park
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI 103.7 FM
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Brian Johnson vs. RHP Chance Adams
OTHER PITCHERS SCHEDULED: RHP Joe Kelly, RHP Heath Hembree, RHP Brandon Workman, RHP Carson Smith, LHP Robby Scott, RHP Matt Barnes
PITCHERS SCHEDULED FOR SUNDAY: LHP Jalen Beeks, RHP Chandler Shepherd, LHP Bobby Poyner, RHP Fernando Rodriguez Jr., RHP Marcus Wald
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Betts RF
Bradley Jr. CF
Ramirez DH
Moreland 1B
Bogaerts SS
Holt 2B
Leon C
Selsky LF
De La Guerra 3B
YANKEES:
Hicks CF
Bird 1B
Drury 3B
Gregorius SS
Torres 2B
Espinosa DH
Romine C
McKinney RF
Cave LF
NEWS AND NOTES:
- LHP Drew Pomeranz, who left Friday's game in Jupiter with some cramping in his left forearm, is scheduled to undergo an MRI in the Fort Myers area Saturday. "We'll have more news after the game, and see where he's at,'' said Cora. "From what the training staff was saying, he was feeling OK. We'll wait for the results, but the way he was acting, the way he was feeling, I feel like he should be fine. But we've got to wait for the results.'' UPDATE: Pomeranz has been diagnosed with a mild flexor strain in his left forearm. "It's kind of what I expected -- nothing too serious,'' said Pomeranz. "There's just a little soreness. I don't see myself missing too much time. I got a little treatment today. I'll come in (Sunday) and try to figure out what the plan is. It's more precautionary than anything. It's spring training, so I'm not going to push it now. What's the point? Plus, it's still pretty early (in spring), so we've got plenty of time to take care of it.''
- Cora plans to get Eduardo Nunez into a game for the first time Wednesday. There's no set date for J.D. Martinez's debut, but Martinez did take part in some outfield drills Saturday morning, working on cutoffs and relays.
- Martinez will get some outfield time over the next few weeks and Cora especially wants him to play some left field at jetBlue Park so he can accustomed to playing in front of the left field wall, which is similar to the one in Fenway. Martinez has played more right field than left in his career, but Cora indicated they didn't plan to have Martinez play much right field at Fenway, which is notoriously spacious and difficult. "Just like the other decisions we make, like lineups and pitching, the ballpark comes into play,'' said Cora. "We're comfortable with J.D, playing right field in other places, but ballpark configuration plays a huge part in the decision-making.''
- Assessing the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, Cora said he believed "the two fan bases, through the off-season, they got what they wanted. One team (Yankees) did it early (with the trade for Giancarlo Stanton) and one team (Red Sox) did it late (with the signing of Martinez). But we are where we are.''
- Asked what team is the team to beat in the A.L. East - the team that is the defending division champions (Red Sox) or the team that went deeper into the playoffs (Yankees), Cora smiled and said: "They're the team to beat. If you ask Cash (New York GM Brian Cashman), we're the team to beat. But I think at the end of the day, the team to beat is the Houston Astros.''
- Cora was asked if the Sox narrowed the gap created by Stanton's acquisition with the addition of Martinez. "I never thought there was a gap,'' he said. "I was very comfortable with the team we had going into spring training. Then it happened that we added Eduardo and J.D...They're good, but we're good, too. I never thought that there was a gap (in talent between the clubs).''