Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona, who has been friends with John Farrell since they were teammates on a “bad” Cleveland team in 1988, said he plans to accompany the Red Sox manager to the hospital Tuesday when he begins his first cycle of chemotherapy.
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“When there was a chance for a pitching coach here, he was the first guy that we looked to, knowing that he would probably not be here very long because he was so good”, he said.
In each of Salazar’s past three starts, the only run against him came via homer from a left-handed batter: Kole Calhoun, Angels; Brian McCann, Yankees; and Travis Shaw, Red Sox. The Tribe rebounded from back-to-back poor performances in losses at Minnesota (combined two runs and 10 hits). Oh, they’ve also been the only three earned runs (plus an unearned) that Danny Salazar has given up in those four games, spanning 28 and 1/3 innings.
Barnes had only recently transitioned back from a reliever to a starter, and had given up five runs in eight innings in two starts in triple-A Pawtucket. He’s given up two-or-fewer runs in six of his last seven starts. The 25-year-old right-hander held the Indians hitless for the first 31/3 innings. Michael Brantley broke up his no-hitter with a hard-hit ground-rule double down the right-field line, and Carlos Santana singled and homered off of Barnes in his second and third at-bats, respectively. Abraham Almonte blasted a solo home run in the ensuing at-bat to stretch Cleveland’s lead to 6-1. He won a World Series of his own in 2013, two seasons after the Red Sox and Francona parted ways.
He didn’t make the catch, but it was another example of the young outfielder’s potential. “But then there’s a handful of people who are friends not just through baseball but outside of baseball, and he’s certainly one of those for me”.
Farrell worked under Francona from 2007-10.
The status of infielder Chris Johnson remains unclear after he sat out the last two games because of an infection he suspects was caused by an insect bite on his hand.
Pitching in the major leagues is not new anymore to Matt Barnes, as he has made 26 appearances over the last two years in a Boston Red Sox uniform. 3B Pablo Sandoval also returned.
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INDIANS: RHP Trevor Bauer (9-9) is set to start Tuesday.
