Moreland gets 'special' welcome at Fenway

BOSTON -- Mitch Moreland played four seasons with the Red Sox, and his towering, three-run, pinch-hit homer to right field at Dodger Stadium in Game 4 of the 2018 World Series will forever be part of club lore.

“I think it landed in Pasadena,” quipped Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

This week, Moreland is enjoying his homecoming at Fenway Park as a member of the Oakland Athletics.

When he stepped up to the plate for his first at-bat of the series on Tuesday night, the Fenway faithful ignored his green road jersey and treated him like he was still wearing the home whites.

“It was definitely special,” Moreland said on Wednesday. “Something that I was greatly appreciated, humbled by. It’s a great fanbase, one of the best. It’s nice to be back and see some familiar faces, for sure.”

While the homer in Game 4 in 2018 changed the complexion of that entire Fall Classic -- Boston trailed 4-0 when he hit it, and a loss would have knotted the series at 2-2 -- Moreland is most beloved by Boston fans and teammates for his grit.

Moreland played hard and he played hurt, and he was a leader in the clubhouse and in the community. Getting traded to the Padres a couple of hours before a Sunday home game on Aug. 30 of last season meant that Moreland didn’t really get a chance to say goodbye to his teammates or the city of Boston.

That chance came around when he stepped back on to the Fenway field on Tuesday. The respect of his former teammates became evident when during that ovation at the start of his first at-bat, catcher Christian Vázquez stood behind the plate and clapped into his glove, and several Red Sox players applauded from the dugout.

“Definitely special,” said Moreland. “You know, they’re still close friends, great teammates, and obviously, you know, spent a lot of time with those guys. For Vazqy to do that and to look around and see other guys, you know, following his lead on that was special. It’s something I’ll never forget.”

Moreland developed an affinity for Fenway a decade or so before he even played for the Red Sox.

“It's definitely a special place to play,” said Moreland. “This place, it goes all the way back to college when I was playing in the Cape Cod League and was still in college and I got to come up here and watch games. It’s just a special place to play baseball and I was fortunate enough to play here and enjoy that from the home side. It's still fun being here as a visitor as well.”

Pivetta to COVID-19 IL
Roughly 40 minutes prior to Wednesday’s game, the Red Sox placed righty starter Nick Pivetta on the COVID-19 injured list.

In a press release, the Red Sox stated that the reason for the move was that Pivetta experienced side effects after getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

To take Pivetta’s spot on the roster, the Sox recalled righty Eduard Bazardo from Triple-A Worcester.

Pivetta, who is 5-0 with a rotation-leading 3.19 ERA, was scheduled to make his next start on Friday. It is unclear if he will be able to take that turn.

This is the second time Bazardo has been called up this season. He is ranked No. 27 among Red Sox prospects by MLB Pipeline. Bazardo has pitched twice this season for Worcester and had a perfect ninth inning in his most recent appearance on May 8.

Chavis over Dalbec; Franchy’s funk
When Bobby Dalbec broke out of an 0-for-27 slump and belted a homer on Friday night, there was hope that he might be ready to get in a groove. But Dalbec had just two hits over 12 at-bats in the next three games.

On Wednesday night, Michael Chavis started at first base for the second night in a row over Dalbec.

Chavis, who was recalled from Triple-A Worcester last weekend, is 3-for-9 with a homer since his return.

Similarly, Franchy Cordero snapped an 0-for-25 slump with a 3-for-5 game on May 6. But in his last five games entering Wednesday, he is 0-for-13.

“He’s making contact. That’s important. But that [three-hit] game he had here, he pulled the ball,” said Cora. “He’s been more aggressive with pitches in the zone. We’ll keep preaching, talking to him, helping him out, just, if you get your pitch, let it go. Hopefully he can put a few good swings on it today and get back on track.”

Sawamura’s splitter
As lefty Darwinzon Hernandez continues to be inconsistent in high-leverage situations, Japanese rookie righty Hirokazu Sawamura continues to show encouraging signs that he might be ready for more responsibility.

“I think the split is playing now better than in early in the season or in Spring Training,” said Cora. “The fastball, obviously we’ve been talking about it, there’s been some damage with fastballs down in the zone. But overall, he’s been solid. If you look at the numbers at the end of the day, he’s been good. I think yesterday was his best split. He got some swings and misses. He’s been actually really good against lefties.”

When asked if he’d prefer one of his high-leverage relievers to be left-handed, Cora said it doesn’t really matter. He wants outs.

“No, it’s not necessary,” said Cora. “We did it in ‘18 with [righties] Joe [Kelly], [Matt Barnes] and Craig [Kimbrel]. There's righties that can get lefties out.”

Kiké and Arroyo: ‘Sooner rather than later’
The Red Sox are currently short-handed with both Kiké Hernández (right hamstring strain) and Christian Arroyo (left hand contusion) on the injured list. But Cora expects both of them to be back right around the time they are eligible, which is May 17.

“We feel good about where they’re at, especially with Enrique. We would like to see them play a little bit [on rehab],” said Cora. “A little bit might be one game or two games. It's trending in the right direction, and it seems like both of them should be with us sooner rather than later.”

Cora’s ‘amazing’ anniversary
Wednesday was the 17th anniversary of the best at-bat of Cora’s playing career. That was when he belted the 18th pitch of an at-bat against Cubs pitcher Matt Clement for a home run on May 12, 2004.

“One thing I remember, if you take a look at that at-bat [on video], it’s Mr. [Vin] Scully and he goes, ‘Alex Cora 0-for-2 with two flyballs. When you don’t have power, two fly balls are like wasting at-bats,' ” said Cora. “He said that right away. It just happened that I hit a homer. It was a special moment. It’s one of those that if you look for something in your career that represents who you are, that’s probably the moment.

“Grind and try to get a hit somehow, and the home run was the icing on the cake, but to stick to the plan and be able to do that was amazing.”