Red Sox face Twins looking for answers without Pedroia (Jun 20, 2018)
More than two weeks after he returned to the disabled list for a second time this season, the Boston Red Sox have no timetable for second baseman Dustin Pedroia's return.
Pedrioa underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee last October and began the season on the disabled list. He began a minor league rehab assignment last month and was added to the Boston roster on May 26.
But Pedroia lasted just three games, going 1 for 11 with a pair of walks, and when soreness in the knee remained, the team put him back on the shelf on May 30.
"It was a major surgery," manager Alex Cora said. "We didn't know what to expect, so we are where we are now. We're hoping that, yeah, he'll be back. When? We don't know. But I still believe he's going to contribute this season and he's going to help us to win."
Without Pedroia in the lineup, Cora has turned primarily to Eduardo Nunez at second base with Brock Holt getting 17 starts as well. Overall, Red Sox second basemen have combined for a .614 OPS and rank second-to-last in baseball with a minus-12 Defensive Runs Saved.
Nunez will likely get the nod again Wednesday night as the Red Sox continue their three-game series with the Twins at Target Field behind left-hander David Price, who is 6-0 with a 2.64 ERA over his last seven starts.
"Better fastball command, just commanding the baseball better," Price said of his recent success. "Making better pitches with runners in scoring position. That was a big problem for me in the times I struggled this year, just runners in scoring position. Four two-out runs in Oakland that day. All the runs were with two outs. Same thing my third outing against Tampa back at home. That was two-run outs as well."
Price is 10-3 with a 2.52 ERA in 17 games, 16 of them starts, against the Twins.
Lance Lynn, the Twins' scheduled starter, is starting to look much more like the pitcher Minnesota had in mind when it signed the veteran right-hander to a one-year deal during spring training.
Lynn slumped out to a 8.37 ERA through his first five starts but has gone 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA in eight starts since, working at least six innings in all but two of those outings.
He struck out a season-high nine with just one walk his last time out but took his first loss since May 16 after the Tigers for tagged him for three runs in the seventh inning.
"You've got to get through the seventh there. I wasn't able to do it," Lynn said after the game. "Everything was still there. Just made one bad pitch and ran into a barrel. ... Ended up giving up three runs and it cost us the win."
Lynn has three career starts against the Red Sox, going 0-1 with a 1.89 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 19 innings of work. He last faced Boston late in the 2017 season but did not take a decision after allowing two runs on seven hits over six innings.
