The former Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher said it's hard to simulate a save situation in the middle innings.
Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell, right, removes pitcher Joel Hanrahan from Thursday's spring training game against the Minnesota Twins in Fort Myers, Fla.
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Boston Red Sox closer Joel Hanrahan is cramming in some work before leaving camp for the impending birth of his son.
Hanrahan said spring training has never been his strong suit. It showed Thursday afternoon at Hammond Stadium, where the split-squad Minnesota Twins combined for four runs off four hits in one-third of an inning against Hanrahan.
The Red Sox defeated the Twins 12-5. Boston first baseman Mike Napoli hit a three-run homer and second baseman Dustin Pedroia went 2 for 4 with two RBIs, a double and two runs scored.
Closers typically pitch in the middle innings of spring training games, which gives them a different feel for when they pitch, said Hanrahan, who opened the fourth on the mound in front of an announced crowd of 6,310.
“For me, you’re just trying to get people out,” Hanrahan said. “To me, in the eighth or ninth inning in Fenway or Yankee Stadium, that’s impossible to simulate here. Fortunately, that’s something a lot of us have done before.
“We know how to handle it when that situation comes. It’s a little bit different when there are 40,000 people out there. But you’re still trying to get people out. I’m not making any excuses.”
None of the hits Hanrahan surrendered were of the extra base variety.
“Fortunately I kept the ball down, or else a couple would have ended up on Six Mile Cypress out there,” Hanrahan said of the road behind Hammond Stadium. “Spring training’s not my best thing.”
Hanrahan saved a combined 76 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2011-12 before signing a one-year contract with the Red Sox for 2013.
“When Clint Hurdle named me the closer in 2011, people were calling for my head,” Hanrahan said of his former manager in Pittsburgh. “I think I went out and had a terrible spring. That last week to 10 days, it kind of came back to me.”
Red Sox manager John Farrell said he wasn’t worried about Hanrahan.
“He’s had good stuff every time he’s been out there,” Farrell said. “They put some swings on them. The most important thing is, he doesn’t have to be perfect.”
Hanrahan is slated to pitch again Saturday before leaving for Frisco, Texas, Sunday. His wife Kim is scheduled to give birth to their son, to be named Ryan, Monday. Ryan is Hanrahan’s middle name.
Twins starting pitcher Kevin Correia, a teammate with Hanrahan for two seasons in Pittsburgh, had just returned to Fort Myers from being with his wife for the birth of their son Benjamin on March 1.
While Hanrahan’s ERA inflated to 18.00, Farrell was pleased with reliever Daniel Bard’s 0.00.
Bard had a 5-6 record with a 6.22 ERA in 2012, which also included a 3-2 record with a 7.03 ERA for Triple-A Pawtucket.
Bard struck out three in one inning of work. He has yet to give up a run or a hit in two Grapefruit League appearances after struggling in 2012, when he was trying to transition from reliever to starter.
“It’s very encouraging,” Farrell said. “He had improved command and improved velocity. It was a very good day for him. The most important thing you can take away from today is a lot of quality fastball strikes.
“He has been able to repeat in game settings what he has been working on of late. He was probably 95 or 97 (mph). That might be his best velocity in a little more than a year. But beside the velocity, just his the form of his delivery was the most important thing.”
Red Sox starting pitcher Clay Buchholz appeared recovered from a hamstring pull he had on the first day of spring training. He struck out four and gave up just two hits with no walks in three scoreless innings.
“Much better tempo,” Farrell said of Buchholz. “The fact that he pitches three solid innings puts him right back in line with the rest of the rotation and puts that whole hamstring thing behind him. I saw a number of good things from him today.
“He’s trying to shorten the amount of time between his pitches. Not just speeding up his delivery, but just getting back on the mound and making the pitch. That was noticeably different today.”
Buchholz had an 11-8 record with a 4.56 ERA in 29 starts last season for Boston, but he went 17-7 with a 2.33 ERA in 2010 when Farrell worked for the Red Sox as the pitching coach.
“One thing I’ve been working on in between starts is trying to find that rhythm,” Buchholz said. “The two light bullpens that I’ve thrown, that’s basically what we’ve worked on. I’ve tried to bring that into the game as much as I could.”