PHILADELPHIA — For one night, the Red Sox were prepared. Their bullpen was exhausted, their starter’s medical history was longer than his big league resume, and so they had an extra arm in the bullpen.
You know, just in case.
Sure enough, in the middle of last night’s third inning, manager John Farrell had to break the glass and hit the big red button. Rookie Brian Johnson’s sore shoulder was a pitching emergency, and in came Hector Velazquez, the Triple-A call-up summoned for just such a worst-case scenario.
And for one night, Velazquez gave the Red Sox what they needed.