Green Pitches In

Nick Green was told by Terry Francona in the third inning last night that he might be pitching before the night was through.

I didn't know my ball was going to move all over the place. ... I didn't know what to expect. I haven't tried to throw a strike to a catcher in 11 years [in junior college]. ...

[Francona] told me the way it was going to work, with Manny pitching two and Ramon pitching one, and then I come in. But I asked Farrell, "Who's going to pitch the ninth?"

John Farrell:

Given the situation with two guys unavailable [Saito and Wagner] and with two other guys [Bard and Okajima], if we pitched them, would have been three out of the last four days ... [He kept] us rested going into this next series.

The only other Red Sox positional player to pitch two hitless innings was Eddie Lake, against the Browns on May 17, 1944. David McCarty pitched two innings for the Sox against the Orioles on October 3, 2004.

Outfielder Jonathan Van Every pitched against the Rays on April 30. The only other season in which the Red Sox had two position players take the mound was 1928 -- Doug Taitt (July 25) and Jack Rothrock (September 24).

Note: Francona pitched a perfect ninth inning for the Brewers on May 15, 1989, getting two fly outs, then getting a called strike three on Stan Javier.