Hernandez notches 4 K's in big league debut

BOSTON -- Top Red Sox pitching prospect Darwinzon Hernandez thought he was holding his emotions in check rather well in his Major League debut on Tuesday night.

But then came the moment he had to face Miguel Cabrera. Just like the future Hall of Famer who has spent most of his career with the Tigers, Hernandez is also from Venezuela.

To any aspiring baseball player from that country, Cabrera is the one to be awed by.

Facing Cabrera with one out in the sixth of an eventual 4-2 loss for the Red Sox, the 22-year-old Hernandez issued the only walk of an impressive first appearance.

"I got emotional," Hernandez said through interpreter Ramon Vazquez. "I'm a fan of his, but at the same time, I wanted to get the job done."

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Called up to be Boston's 26th man for the second game of a day-night doubleheader, Hernandez did get the job done, holding the Tigers to no runs while striking out four over 2 1/3 innings of relief.

Hernandez – ranked No. 4 by MLB Pipeline in Boston's farm system -- was returned to Double-A Portland after the game, where he will continue in the starting rotation until the Red Sox need him again.

The Red Sox had another intriguing prospect make his debut on Tuesday in righty Travis Lakins, who fired 2 2/3 innings and gave up four hits and one run, walking none and striking out two.

"It's just the dream come true, you know?" Lakins said. "I've been playing ball since I was 4 years old and never experienced anything like this, never thought of being in this position, and it's just hard to describe."

To make room for Lakins on the roster, the Sox optioned lefty Bobby Poyner to Triple-A Pawtucket.

"It was really good. It was fun to watch. You can see the stuff from Darwinzon," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "Lakins did an outstanding job. We pushed him hard, because it was something that we needed. You saw fastball up, the cutter and the breaking ball. He slowed the game down, which was good."

Fenway could spark JBJ

With Jackie Bradley Jr. off to another slow start at the plate (.141/.200/.172, two extra-base hits), Red Sox manager Alex Cora thinks that the team’s 10-game homestand could provide the spark the left-handed hitter needs.

According to Cora, it isn’t just playing at Fenway that will benefit Bradley. It's more about all the batting practice.

“A lot of chases [so far],” Cora said. “A lot of swings and misses. I think coming here and being here, what, 11 days, 12 days, whatever it is, I think it’s going to help him out. Just hit a few balls the other way, hit the wall and get them going. Even in batting practice, just get that path and start flipping balls the other way and be like, ‘OK, I can do that.’ Stay on the fastball left-center and whenever they hang a breaking ball, just pull it with power. Hopefully it starts in the upcoming days.”

After sitting in Game 1 against lefty Matthew Boyd, Bradley went 0-for-3 with a walk in Game 2.

Emergency catcher is …

Last year, the Red Sox didn’t need an emergency catcher because they carried three on the roster nearly all season.

This year is a different story. And with Christian Vázquez serving as the designated hitter in Game 1 on Tuesday (0-for-2, run, walk) and Sandy León (0-for-2) behind the plate, it was worth asking Cora who he would use in the case of an emergency.

“We have [Tzu-Wei] Lin now, so he can be our third catcher. Early in the season, there was a game in ... Oakland. I was like, 'Who’s going to be catcher?' I didn’t have too many volunteers, to say the least. So Lin will be the third catcher.”

Does Lin (1-for-3, double, run) have enough training to be able to catch in a Major League game?

“Enough that he can do it. He’s worked with [Jason Varitek] before. So he’ll be OK,” Cora said.