Red Sox Notes: Velazquez finishes strong, Kimbrel appears, Martinez homerless

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Three things we learned from the Red Sox’ 4-2 win over the Cubs

Hector Velazquez needed a good finish to an otherwise rocky spring: Velazquez lugged a 6.75 ERA into his final spring start, but tossed four shutout innings against a strong Chicago lineup, providing him with some momentum for his start of the regular season. He allowed three hits, walked one and struck out two.

“I know I had a couple of rough outings to start,’’ acknowledged Velazquez, “but the important thing is to finish off strong and make sure you have your pitches where they need to be. I’m ready to start the season. I feel ready to go.’’

Velazquez has a temporary spot in the rotation as the Red Sox wait for Eduardo Rodriguez and Drew Pomeranz to be cleared, and he understands his role.

“It’s a great opportunity to have,’’ he said. “I know what my role is currently – it’s to serve as a supplement to the big guys in front of me and it’s my job to basically execute when it’s my day to pitch and give us the best chance (to win).’’

Velazquez is set to start the fourth game of the season, Sunday, at Tropicana Field.

Craig Kimbrel talked his way into the final game of the spring: Less than two hours before the start of the final Grapefruit League game, Alex Cora announced that Kimbrel would throw a bullpen in preparation for the start of the season, adding that Kimbrel didn’t want to limit his availability for the first series by pitching too much in the run-up to the opener. But sometime between then and the fifth inning, Kimbrel told pitching coach Dana LeVangie that he wanted to get into the game because he wasn’t satisfied with how the ball was coming out of his hand in his last appearance on Sunday.

“I felt like I’d be fine to go out there and throw,’’ said Kimbrel.

Kimbrel was his dominant self, retiring all three hitters he faced on just 11 pitches – two strikeouts and a harmless flyout.

“My breaking ball was good today,’’ said Kimbrel. “I still have a few clicks on my fastball to find. But overall, I’m commanding the ball and getting my breaking ball over for strikes and throwing it with some bite when I need to.’’

J.D. Martinez ended the spring without a homer: Martinez collected two hits in the win and finished with a .319 batting average, but the power has yet to be displayed. Should the Red Sox be worried? Hardly. Last year, Martinez hit just two homers in spring training for the Detroit Tigers, then went on to hit 45 homers in just 119 regular season games. And Martinez warned everyone when he signed with the Sox that he traditionally is not a good spring hitter.