Brock Holt’s brush with history did not come with a ticket back into the lineup.
Despite hitting for the first cycle in MLB postseason history to add an exclamation point to the Red Sox’s 16-1 Game 3 win over the Yankees Monday night, Holt was back on the bench Tuesday. With manager Alex Cora saying he was not at all tempted to start him again for Game 4.
“I told him it’s a tough league,” Cora said with a grin before the game at Yankee Stadium. “I talked to him this morning, and he knew. He knew where we were going.”
With Yankees lefty CC Sabathia on the mound, Cora opted for the right-handed Ian Kinsler at second base instead of the left-handed Holt. Likewise, he put the right-handed Eduardo Nunez back at third base over the left-handed Rafael Devers, playing the matchups instead of riding the hot hands from their Game 3 performances.
It was tough to doubt Cora, who should have played the lottery after the way his Game 3 moves worked out. He gave Holt, Devers and Christian Vazquez their first starts at Yankee Stadium against Luis Severino, and all three newcomers made key contributions after none had started the first two games of the series at Fenway Park. But he didn’t let one game’s results sway him when writing out the lineup for Game 4.
“We’ve been doing this the whole season,” Cora said. “Like [Monday] we felt that that was the best lineup for us was to attack Severino, and tonight we feel this is the best lineup to attack CC Sabathia. He’s one of the best lefties in the big leagues. He’s a lot tougher against lefties than righties, and we’ve got a group of righties that we feel we can match up with him and take advantage of the situation.”
Holt was 0-for-4 in his career against Sabathia while Kinsler was 11-for-41 (.268) with two home runs. Then again, Holt entered Monday 1-for-15 against Severino and still came up big.
Kinsler entered Game 3 in the seventh inning as a defensive replacement at second base — with Holt taking over for Steve Pearce at first base — and drew a walk with two outs in the ninth against Austin Romine to give Holt a chance to complete the cycle.
The versatility of the Red Sox bench players — Holt chief among them — has allowed Cora to mix and match how he pleases.
“It’s very important,” Cora said. “We’re playing in an era where that’s needed. You have to maximize your roster, your position players.”
