McAdam: Red Sox go with Nathan Eovaldi as Game 3 starter

NEW YORK -- The struggles of the Red Sox starting rotation in the postseason  -- combined, they've earned one October win and even that didn't come until Chris Sale won Game 1 last Friday night -- have been well-chronicled, so maybe it's not a bad thing that the Red Sox have decided to go with someone who has never before pitched in the postseason as their Game 3 starter Monday night.

Manager Alex Cora had the option of going with Rick Porcello, but went with Nathan Eovaldi instead.



"Rick pitched that inning on (Friday),'' said Cora, referring to two-thirds of an inning in relief, "so we felt like one more day is going to benefit him if we stay away from him. Nate hasn't pitched in a while. He's rested, had a good week and we're going with him.''

Aside from providing time for more bounce-back opportunity for Porcello, the Red Sox are also buoyed by what they've seen from Eovaldi - especially against the Yankees.

"We know he's going to be throwing hard and he's going to mix it up,'' said Cora. "He's had success against (New York); seems like a good matchup. We trust his stuff. He can even get away with mistakes - when you throw 100 mph and you place it in the right spot, even if they take a good swing, you can get miss-hits. So that's a key.''

Eovaldi made three appearances against the Yankees and didn't allow an earned run. He shut them out for eight innings on Aug. 4, and then beat them at Yankee Stadium on September 18, not allowing a run over six. He even added two innings of relief against them in the final series of the year, during which the Yankees scratched out an earned run.

"It definitely gives me confidence, just knowing that I've had recent success against them,'' said Eovaldi. "I'm trying to do the same thing that I have been doing -- stay aggressive and try to get that first-pitch strike out of the way.''

Unlike David Price, who saw his streak of postseason futility extended Saturday in Game 2 -- he's now winless in 10 starts -- Eovaldi will be making his playoff debut.

"It's definitely the most important game I've ever pitched in,'' said Eovaldi. "This is what we play for, coming out of spring training and preparing for this moment.''

If the postseason is entirely foreign to him, surely Eovaldi won't be awed by the surroundings. He made 48 starts in pinstripes between 2015-2016 and the environment will not be new. Eovaldi knows better than most how critical it is to keep the ball in the ballpark -- among other keys.

"You try and get quick outs,'' he said, "and try not to let the crowd get too crazy and get behind (the Yankees) and get them going. I feel like the key to that is working ahead and staying ahead and not really giving them free bases and things like that.''

On that score, Eovaldi can usually be counted on to throw strikes. During the 2018 season -- first with Tampa Bay and then, over the final two months with the Red Sox -- Eovaldi averaged just 1.6 walks per nine innings, among the lowest walk rates among starters in the American League.

Apart from the huge importance to the Red Sox playoff chances, Game 3 will also serve as a special reminder for Eovaldi about how far he's traveled to reach this point. It was, ironically, against the Red Sox in 2016 that Eovaldi suffered an elbow injury, resulting in the need to undergo Tommy John surgery for the second time.

That his first postseason appearance will come in the ballpark in which he was first sidelined, is only fitting.

"I hurt my arm against the Red Sox,'' noted Eovaldi, "and now I'm on this side of it and back in Yankee Stadium in this situation. I think it's kind of cool.''