When the Red Sox face the Marlins on Saturday, manager Alex Cora’s emotions figure to be all over the place. And it will have nothing to do with that day’s game.

Following Friday night’s game, Cora will fly to his home in Caguas, Puerto Rico, so he can attend his daughter Camila’s graduation from high school the following day. Bench coach Will Venable will manage the Red Sox on Saturday.

Cora will be back in the dugout for Sunday afternoon’s finale of the homestand.

The whirlwind trip will be fully worth it for Cora, who has always spoken with affection about his only daughter.

“On a personal note, this girl, she means the world to us. She’s been through a lot in her life,” Cora said. “A child of divorced parents, that’s not easy, but the fact we’ve been able to work through it together and put her in a situation where she’s at right now. She’s going to college.

“She’s been great to us throughout the process. She suffered a lot the last 16 months with everything that happened with me, but, at the same time, our relationship has grown. I explained to her a lot of stuff, she had a lot of questions and I answered all of them.”

As you might expect from anyone who has a close relationship with Cora, Camila loves baseball.

“She is still rooting for the Red Sox, rooting for dad, rooting for baseball,” Cora said. “And now is our time to root for her. I cannot wait for Saturday. I think it’s probably the biggest day of my life, to be able to see Camila graduate from high school. It’s amazing. She is actually the life of our family, she’s the vibe of our family, she’s the leader of our family, and I cannot wait for that. It will be a special day.”

Working his way back?
There hasn’t been much talk about Brandon Workman since the Red Sox re-signed their former closer to a Minor League deal and assigned him to Triple-A Worcester. Cora provided an update on Wednesday.

“Work has been throwing the ball well. I think his breaking ball is playing a lot better,” Cora said. “As far as usage, we want him to throw the cutter a little bit more and we are getting there.”

The veteran righty has a 1.80 ERA in five appearances at Worcester.

Verdugo can get better at ‘everything’
Off to a solid start this season, outfielder Alex Verdugo cautions people not to look at him as a finished product.

What can he get better at?

“Everything,” Verdugo said. “I mean, I'm not gonna lie [to] you, everything. It's just one of those things, I feel like I've had a good year, yes, but the person, the competitor in me, knows that there's a lot more, in every aspect.

“On the baserunning, stealing more bases. Getting the job done with runners on third [and less than two outs], just putting the ball in play. Getting more doubles, things like that. Stepping it up a little bit more on the defensive side as well. Every part of my game, every piece it's just like, I feel like this year I haven't fully clicked. It's kind of been a grind. It's been a good season so far, but it's nowhere near what I expected to be or what I want it to be.”