Drew Pomeranz started the season on the disabled list and his performance in spring training was so erratic that the Red Sox weren’t sure what to expect from him.
Now he’s one of the most reliable No. 2 starters in the game.
Pomeranz faces the Yankees on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at Fenway Park. The lefthander is 12-4 with a 3.39 earned run average over 23 starts.
Pomeranz is 6-0 with a 2.42 ERA in his last 11 starts and this season has beat the Yankees twice in three starts. He faced them on Saturday in New York and allowed three runs over 6⅔ innings.
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An All-Star last season with the San Diego Padres, Pomeranz feels he has been even better this season.
“It feels more complete,” he said. “I’ve been able to throw all my pitches for strikes. This has been the best I’ve pitched as a starter.”
The Sox are 15-8 in games Pomeranz has started, winning 11 of the last 15. He is tied for third in the American League in wins and sixth in ERA. Only 12 pitchers have more strikeouts.
Pomeranz will oppose Jordan Montgomery. The rookie lefthander allowed one run over 5⅓ innings against the Sox on Sunday.
Ceremonies on deck
Friday is the 50th anniversary of the day the late Tony Conigliaro was hit in the face by a pitch from Jack Hamilton of the Angels.
Conigliaro suffered a detached retina in his left eye, a fractured cheekbone, and dislocated jaw. He missed the entire 1968 season. The 22-year-old from Swampscott had already hit 104 home runs in parts of four seasons in the majors at the time of his injury.
Conigliaro made a successful comeback in 1969 but his career was essentially over in 1972 because of vision problems.
Conigliaro made a brief return in 1975 then passed away in 1990 at the age of 45. The Sox will honor Conigliaro’s memory on Friday by having his brothers, Billy and Richie, throw out first pitches before the game.
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The team also will unveil a display honoring “Tony C” located near Gate C.
The memorabilia on display will include his helmet, jersey and American League championship ring from 1967 along with photographs.
On Sunday, the Sox will celebrate Jerry Remy’s 30 years with NESN in a pregame ceremony.
Remy will be on hand to throw out the first pitch. Remy, 64, has been away from the team since June. He had surgery for lung cancer in July and is scheduled to start chemotherapy later this month.
Remy has announced approximately 3,900 games for NESN and been involved in professional baseball since 1971.
Moves made
The Sox activated lefthander Roenis Elias off the 60-day disabled list and optioned him to Triple A Pawtucket. To accommodate Elias returning to the 40-man roster, righthanded reliever Noe Ramirez was designated for assignment. Elias has appeared in only three games for the Sox since being obtained from Seattle before the 2016 season. Ramirez, 27, has a 4.99 ERA in 33 major league appearances over the last three seasons. He had a 3.51 ERA in 33 games for Pawtucket this season . . . With the Sox off on Thursday, Hanley Ramirez held a clinic for 120 youth players in Lawrence at the Mercedes Baseball Academy . . . Craig Kimbrel worked a scoreless ninth inning on Thursday and was the winner when the Sox scored three times in the bottom of the inning against St. Louis. He has struck out nearly half the batters he has faced this season (94 of 187) . . . The Sox are 5-7 against the Yankees . . . Andrew Benintendi starts the series with a 10-game hit streak. He is 19 of 46 (.413) this month with eight extra-base hits.
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Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.