HOUSTON -- Alex Cora sat down at the podium at Minute Maid Park Thursday for his media availability, and before the first question could be asked, preemptively leaned toward the microphone and announced: "We're going Chris (Sale) and then we're going Nate (Eovaldi).''
The verbal shorthand was Cora's way of announcing his starting pitching plans for the first two games of the American League Championship Series that gets underway Friday against the Houston Astros.
The announcement itself was something of a mild surprise. It had been assumed that Eovaldi -- on the basis of two terrific postseason starts earlier this month -- would have the honor of opening the series. For that matter, Cora had been deliberately vague at Fenway on Wednesday when asked about the plans for Sale, noting only, "He'll pitch ... he'll pitch.''
Without him directly addressing the reasoning, it wasn't difficult to understand Cora's reasoning. Sale has been rocked in his last two starts -- in the final regular season game of the season, and again in Game 2 of the ALDS against Tampa Bay -- and while the widespread belief is that Sale found some mechanical flaws this past week and corrected him, by having him pitch Friday in Game 1, the Red Sox will have plenty of well-rested reinforcements ready and able if his recent downturn continues.
But on a certain level, the order of the starting pitchers, and indeed starting pitching itself -- while hardly irrelevant -- has never been less important in postseason baseball. That's a commentary on the game's evolution, the way postseason baseball is conducted in 2021, and in particular, how Cora utilizes his pitching staff.
It speaks volumes that in the two biggest wins in the Division Series when the Sox dispatched the Rays, the most important pitching performances came from bulk relievers.
In Game 2 at Tropicana Field, Sale was given a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning to give it back (and more) in the bottom of the inning, allowing five runs, four on one swing to Jordan Luplow.
That big hole didn't deter the Sox, who went on to score 13 of the next 14 runs in the game to take a 14-6 win and even the series. But as explosive as the lineup was, the key may well have been a near-perfect relief outing from Tanner Houck, who retired the first 11 hitters he faced in a five-inning stint that saw him allow just one run on two hits.
Two days later, Eovaldi was sharp in Game 3, limiting the Rays to two runs on three hits over five innings. But as game wore on, the biggest mound contribution would come from Nick Pivetta, who delivered four scoreless innings until Christian Vazquez delivered a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 13th to clinch a 6-4.
Two games, two wildly different starting performances, and ultimately, two walkoff wins in which a converted starter provided essential relief work.
Not that this is anything new to 2021.
Starting with the team's magical postseason run of 2018, the Sox and Cora took a "kitchen sink'' approach to the postseason. Defined roles went out the window. Pitchers found themselves utilized in new ways. And the team's relievers -- which often included pitchers who had nominally been classified as starters during the season -- were on call in any inning.
But if there was one relief appearance in 2018 that came to symbolize the utilitarian nature of the staff, it was the six-plus innings delivered by Eovaldi Game 3 of the World Series -- after he had appeared out of the bullpen in each of the first two games. Eovaldi's effort, totaling 97 pitches. It was, at once, the longest World Series relief appearance and the most unexpected.
Cora is hoping that he doesn't need anybody to throw that many again in the ALCS. But should the occasion arise, he'll have numerous candidates from which to choose. In addition to Houck and Pivetta, he has rookie Garrett Whitlock available for multi-inning use.
"The willingness for them to do this is what makes it happen,'' said Cora of his pitchers. "You try to win the game that you play today. Then, after that, you make adjustments. But knowing that we have Tanner and we have Garrett and we have Nick and we have Eduardo (Rodriguez) and Martin (Perez), they can give us multiple innings. And it's not just multiple innings -- it's quality innings and good matchups for us.
"That's the way we do it. That's the way we feel about it. I know there are other organizations who don't agree with it. But at the end of the day, you don't get too many chances to win a World Series or get to this point, But I think we have to maximize our opportunity and that's what we try to do.''