Johan Oviedo’s fourth start of the spring got off to a phenomenal start, as the first-year Red Sox right-hander struck out the first four batters he faced.
But after that Oviedo ran into trouble.
Oviedo allowed two runs on three hits and three walks over his 3 1/3 innings of work in Friday’s 7-6 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, finishing with five strikeouts, but only one after the initial game-opening burst.
The 28-year-old struck out the side in the first and worked around a walk for a scoreless second, but in the third he allowed a leadoff double and later a two-out walk, setting the stage for Jonny DeLuca’s two-run single to make it 2-0 Rays.
Oviedo came back out for the fourth and tallied his fifth strikeout, but after that he gave up a single and a walk to end his outing after 3 1/3 innings. He threw 64 pitches, only 36 for strikes, and drew five whiffs on the day. Oviedo is in line to make two more starts this spring, and as of now he is believed to be the favorite to start the season as Boston’s No. 5 starter.
Narvaez homers
Carlos Narvaez delivered the big swing of the day for Boston, crushing a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth off Rays right-hander Trevor Martin. Narvaez’s shot traveled 408 feet and was measured at 106.8 mph off the bat, and it came shortly after the Red Sox had a runner thrown out at the plate by Rays center fielder Chandler Simpson on a single by Marcelo Mayer.
Caleb Durbin led off the inning with a double but was thrown out on Mayer’s hit, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa (2 for 4) singled to put two men on again for Narvaez.
Mayer (2 for 2, two walks) also had an RBI single earlier in the bottom of the third, Kristian Campbell and Durbin (3 for 4) each an RBI single in the sixth, and Nate Eaton went 3 for 3 in his first game back from the World Baseball Classic.
Another cut
The Red Sox made their latest spring roster cut on Friday morning, announcing that right-hander Jacob Webb has been reassigned to minor league camp. Webb was among 18 non-roster invitees who were still competing for a spot on the big league club. The 26-year-old spent all of last year in the minors, making 25 appearances split across three levels from High-A to Triple-A. With Friday’s cut there are now 58 players remaining in big league camp.
Coming up next
Brayan Bello, who has returned to Red Sox camp from the World Baseball Classic, will start Saturday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves according to multiple reports, including from MassLive’s Christopher Smith. Webb was originally listed as the Saturday starter in Friday morning’s Red Sox game notes before he was reassigned to minor league camp, and Tyler Uberstine, Kyle Keller, Noah Song and Wyatt Olds were all listed as probable pitchers for Boston as well.