BOSTON — Toward the end of a sometimes tense news conference on Wednesday about Alex Rodriguez’s lack of playing time, Joe Girardi noted that he often is concerned about a starting pitcher’s health early in a game.
He said he always crosses his fingers in the first couple of innings, hoping a pitcher will not absorb a line drive off his ankle that knocks him out of the game and taxes the bullpen.
Sure enough, just a few hours later, Nathan Eovaldi had to leave after the first inning of Wednesday’s 9-4 win over the Red Sox, compounding the myriad problems Girardi was already facing as the manager of a team in transition.