Davey Martinez gave veteran backstop Alex Avila his first start since returning after missing 52 games on the IL with bilateral calf strains (with an overlapping stint on the COVID-IL) in Monday’s series finale with the New York Mets. Martinez explained in his pregame Zoom call with reporters that he wanted the veteran backstop to go out there with Patrick Corbin, the struggling, 32-year-old left-hander, to see if their familiarity might help the southpaw as he’s trying to turn things around and finish this season on a positive note.
“Honestly, I scheduled Avila to catch Corbin for the last four or five days.