Red Sox should have pinch-hit for Hunter Renfroe with game on the line
By Sean Penney
Red Sox options on the bench
If the Red Sox wanted to counter Hendriks with a lefty, Franchy Cordero would have been a viable option. He isn’t exactly lighting it up at the plate either but his .250/.314/.313 line is a step up from what Renfroe is producing and Cordero has always been much better against right-handed pitchers. These two outfielders are ideal platoon partners but when Cora had the chance to pinch-hit in response to Chicago’s starter leaving the game, he didn’t pull the trigger.
The Red Sox also had switch-hitter Marwin Gonzalez available on the bench. He’s off to a slow start, hitting only .216 this season, but he was one of the heroes of Saturday’s game with a solo home run that gave his team an 8th-inning lead. Why not take a chance on Gonzalez coming through in the clutch again?
Gonzalez has more experience facing Hendriks than most hitters on the Red Sox roster since both players spent several years with rival teams in the AL West. He doesn’t have much success in nine career at-bats against Hendriks but the one hit he has against him was a home run.
With Kevin Plawecki getting the start behind the plate, that left Christian Vazquez as an option on the bench. His right-handed bat might not be the best matchup against Hendriks but Vazquez was Boston’s best available hitter at the time. He’s on pace for career-highs with a .295 average and .840 OPS.
Vazquez will start the nightcap of the doubleheader so Cora presumably wanted to stay away from the veteran catcher in Game 1 but it’s hard to resist using one of your best hitters with the game on the line.