FORT MYERS — Three pitchers took the mound behind JetBlue Park and threw three different bullpen sessions that prompted Red Sox manager Alex Cora to give out hugs yesterday morning.
The first pitcher up was Tyler Thornburg, who hadn’t thrown a real bullpen session since before he underwent surgery to treat his rare case of thoracic outlet syndrome last June. The right-handed reliever threw more than 20 pitches before catcher Christian Vazquez ran out to embrace Thornburg for his monumental accomplishment.
“Conviction,” Cora said. “I’ve seen it since the first day I saw him throw.