Richards rights himself with new pitch & ice

BOSTON -- All eyes were on Red Sox righty Garrett Richards heading into Monday’s start against the Royals. He had struggled mightily in his previous three starts, while admitting he was having trouble adapting to the new enforcement on foreign substances on the baseball.

It looked like this was going to be another long night. The righty gave up three homers in the first two innings, including a three-run rocket by Carlos Santana in the first.

But give Richards credit for righting himself and buying his loaded offense time to swing their way back into the game.

With the Red Sox upending the Royals, 6-5, after trailing 5-1 in the second inning, Richards didn’t allow a run over his final 3 2/3 innings.

Knowing that he needed to find a way to adapt, Richards tried everything he could to make it work, including putting his arm in a bucket of ice between innings to try to prevent perspiration.

“I need to stop sweating,” said Richards. “If I can stop sweating, everything will be fine, but I’m a guy that sweats a whole lot. Just trying to work around the new rules and things we have right now. Trying to figure out different ways for me to be successful. That’s what was asked of us to do and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

• FAQ: Sticky stuff and new rule enforcement

Richards is also altering his pitch mix, adding what he referred to as a split/changeup.

“This is a pitch I literally learned four days ago,” said Richards.

Though his overall stat line (5 2/3 innings, 11 hits, five earned runs, zero walks and three strikeouts) was nothing to write home about, the way Richards finished could give him some momentum going into his next projected start on Saturday in Oakland.

“There’s something about this level or any level, Little League, college, Minor Leagues, big leagues, you have to compete with what you have,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “It doesn’t matter. He was competing from the get-go. It didn’t work out with him. The ball was flying today. They put some good swings. But he kept competing. He gave us a chance to win. The offense picked him up. But the fact that he went 5 2/3 innings, he didn’t look great in the beginning … but he didn’t quit.”

It has been a season of ups and downs for Richards. In his first four starts for the Red Sox, Richards went 0-2 with a 6.48 ERA.

Then came the eight-start resurgence, which saw Richards go 4-2 with a 2.98 ERA.

But in his last four starts, Richards has a 9.18 ERA, giving up 32 hits and 17 earned runs in 16 2/3 innings.

Perhaps the teammate that knows him the best suggested the issues Richards is having at the moment are more mental than physical.

“I think it’s all in Garrett’s head, more than anything. I think he doesn’t believe in himself,” said Red Sox right fielder Hunter Renfroe, who also played with Richards in San Diego. “I think that’s kind of his biggest thing. I think if he just goes out there and pitches the way he’s able to pitch, I think he does fine.

“He’s a great pitcher. I think if he believes in himself, I think that’s half the battle. I think he’s still throwing 96 mph, he invented a changeup that’s a really, really good pitch for him and worked really well tonight. I think his curveball and slider are still there. I think he’s got to go up there and believe in himself and keep throwing the ball.”