TORONTO -- One week ago, Red Sox manager John Farrell nearly found himself in a similar dilemma Dave Roberts was in with the Dodgers regarding Rich Hill on Saturday night.
Eduardo Rodriguez was one out away from taking a no-hitter into the ninth inning last Sunday, at which point an infield single by Oakland's Marcus Semien took the pressure off Farrell.
Rodriguez threw 110 pitches through eight innings, just four shy of a career high. While Farrell would have let Rodriguez continue his bid at history, he respects the factors involved in Roberts removing Hill with a perfect game after seven innings and 89 pitches.
"I can empathize with Dave," Farrell said before Sunday's 11-8 Red Sox victory over the Blue Jays. "He's in a tough spot and he's got to balance the bigger picture with the personal accomplishment. I know one thing, he's got a pitcher ready to go in another five days who's not injured and I think that's probably the overriding thing from afar, is just the blister issue that he's dealt with."
Farrell also knows how hard Hill has worked to come back from being a forgotten man, as the Red Sox were the team that signed him midway through last season when he was relegated to an independent league.
"That's got to be factored on both sides of the equation," said Farrell. "It is an incredible story to see what Rich has done in a short period of time. Rodriguez was going back out for the ninth inning regardless. But you know what, Rich Hill has missed six weeks because of a blister. That's a heavy counter-balance to the decision. It's easy to sit here in Toronto when he's [in Miami] making pitches, but I probably would have run him out there at least for another inning to see where it goes from there."