Red Sox Notes: Thursday's lineup could be seen again for opener; 3 things we learned

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The lineup posted early Thursday morning looked suspiciously like the one that might be posted the morning of March 29 at Tropicana Field when the Red Sox begin the regular season.

It looked like this:

Betts RF
Benintendi LF
Ramirez 1B
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Nunez 2B
Bradley Jr. CF
Vazquez C

Alex Cora has made it clear that he’ll have Mookie Betts hit leadoff and Andrew Benintendi second, so that was no surprise.

He remains undecided about whom to hit third and whom to hit fourth, but some combination of Hanley Ramirez and J.D. Martinez will be 3-4.

It might seem a bit of a surprise that Xander Bogaerts was as high as fifth, but the Sox expect him to bounce back at the plate, and even in a decidedly down year, he managed to hit 32 doubles last year.

Some might expect that Cora would like to provide a little more left-right balance in the order and have Rafael Devers hit fifth. But Cora has said he’s not overly concerned with the left-right aspect of the batting order and it may well be that they don’t want to put too much pressure on the 21-year-old to have him batting that high in the order.

The choice of Nunez seventh may seem a little unorthodox, since, in a perfect world, his energy and speed could be utilized more toward the top third. But with Betts and Benintnedi locked in to the top two spots, Nunez is relegated to the lower third.

Finally, there’s Bradley and Vazquez in their familiar eighth and ninth spots.

All of this is subject to change, of course. It will be interesting, for instance, to see where Mitch Moreland fits in when he plays first base over Ramirez. Moreland’s low on-base ability would seem to make him ill-suited for the top third. Perhaps Bogaerts could hit third, with Moreland slotted in at No. 5.

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Three tings we learned from the Red Sox’ 7-5 win over Toronto:

1-David Price is intent on being “great’’ again.

Price looked sharp in his Grapefruit League debut, allowing just one hit while striking out five in four innings.

I asked him what constituted being great.

“Consistency,’’ he said. “I know if I’m consistent, I know my numbers are going to be there at the end of the year and I know that on days that I pitch, we’re going to win way more games than we lose. That’s what I want – I want the Red Sox to win on my day. That’s what I’m worried about.’’

2-Roenis Elias did nothing to help himself.

Elias is contending for a bullpen spot, but did himself no favors Thursday. Taking over for David Price in the top of the fifth, Elias was belted around for four runs in two-thirds of an inning.

He gave up three hits and walked two and couldn’t close out the inning.

Nominally, Elias remains in contention for a bullpen spot. But outings like the one Thursday – and another earlier in the week when he walked Curtis Granderson in a big spot – do nothing to help his cause.

Cora has praised Elias for a better work ethic this spring, but ultimately, it comes down to performance.

"Lack of control,'' shrugged Cora. "The stuff is there, but today he was off. You want guys coming out of the bullpen and attacking with strikes. You have to pound the strike zone and he didn't today.''

3-Andrew Benintendi is doing what’s asked of him at the plate.

Benintendi, like Bogaerts, was a bit passive at the plate last year, swinging at fewer than 20 percent of first pitches last year.

The Red Sox have asked to be more aggressive early in the count this spring and it’s paying off.

Benintendi belted two doubles – one in the first, another in the fourth – and both came early in the count.

“He’s buying into (swinging) at strikes, regardless of whether it’s the first pitch or later in the at-bat,’’ said Cora. “He’s ready to hit.’’

 

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UPCOMING PITCHERS:

FRIDAY (vs. MINN): RHP Rick Porcello, RHP Heath Hembree, RHP Brandon Workman, LHP Robby Scott
SATURDAY (vs. TB): RHP Hector Velazquez