BOSTON — Red Sox manager Alex Cora used a position player, Pablo Reyes, to pitch the ninth inning with a 17-0 lead against the Cubs on April 27, 2024. Cora then said after the game that he “hates” the idea of ever using a position player to pitch with any lead.

One day after Red Sox reliever Liam Hendriks took to social media to condemn offensive messages made against him and his family, manager Alex Cora empathized with his player. Cora spoke Friday ahead of the first game of a doubleheader against Baltimore at Fenway Park.

This team should be performing better than it has been, and is only competitive in the AL East because the rest of the division is not very good.