ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Matt Barnes returned to the Red Sox roster on Friday as an injury replacement for Garrett Richards.
Richards strained his left hamstring while running in the outfield at Tropicana Field on Friday before Game 2 of the Division Series against Tampa Bay.
MLB approved the substitution. Richards would not be eligible for the ALCS if the Red Sox were to advance, but would be eligible for the World Series.
Barnes pitched a scoreless ninth inning in a 14-6 victory, leaving three stranded.
Richards relieved Eduardo Rodriguez with two outs in the second inning Thursday and threw three pitches. He retired Randy Arozarena on a ground ball to shortstop.
Richards, 6-7 with a 5.22 earned run average in 22 starts, was demoted to the bullpen in mid-August. He was valuable as a reliever, averaging 9.57 strikeouts per nine innings with a 1.36 WHIP in 18 appearances.
Barnes, a first-time All-Star this season, was one of the best relievers in the game for the first four months before a sharp decline that saw him allow 12 earned runs on 17 hits (four of them home runs) and nine walks his final 10⅔ innings of the regular season.
The Red Sox also returned J.D. Martinez to the lineup after a two-game absence with a sprained left ankle. He took batting practice on the field, decided to play, and was 4 for 5 with a homer and three RBIs.
Martinez was dropped to sixth in the lineup, the lowest he has been since May of 2017 — also coming off an injury — as a member of the Detroit Tigers.
It’s Nate Eovaldi for Game 3
As expected, the Red Sox will start Nate Eovaldi in Game 3 at Fenway Park on Sunday afternoon. The Rays are planning on righthander Drew Rasmussen.
Eovaldi allowed one run over 5⅓ innings to beat the Yankees in the Wild Card Game on Tuesday. He faced the Rays four times during the season, and allowed seven earned runs over 26⅓ innings.
Rasmussen has faced the Red Sox five times this season, his most against any opponent, and allowed four earned runs on 13 hits over 15⅔ innings. Three of those appearances were starts.
Eovaldi started 10 games for the Rays in 2018 before he was traded to the Sox for lefthander Jalen Beeks, who has not pitched since 2020 because of Tommy John surgery.
Alex Verdugo pitching in?
Alex Verdugo was one of the top high school pitchers from Arizona in the 2014 draft, but was ultimately selected as an outfielder by the Dodgers. The lefthander hasn’t given up on the idea of taking the mound again.
“One-hundred percent, yeah,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll pitch next year, but definitely by 2023. I want to try to just be a two-way [player]. You know, not a [Shohei] Ohtani where he is starting and all that. I just want to be a reliever.
“Come in, help the boys out, something like that. But obviously, I know I got a ways to go.”
Verdugo topped out at 97 miles per hour at Sahuaro High School in Tucson and threw a curveball for strikes.
Verdugo has mentioned before that he wants to pitch, but the Red Sox have politely tabled the discussion. That is not expected to change.
In the house
The Red Sox arranged tickets for a group of about 30 prospects attending Instructional League workouts down the road in Fort Myers . . . When Arozarena stole home on Thursday, it wasn’t a first for Sox lefty Josh Taylor. “It happened to me at the [Junior College] World Series,” he said. “I didn’t think [Arozarena] would go. They had a good hitter up [in Brandon Lowe]. I thought he was trying to distract me. That was a great play. He’s an amazing athlete.”
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social.