BALTIMORE -- With Eduardo Rodriguez and Steven Wright on the shelf for the Red Sox, Thomas Pomeranz making his long-awaited return to the rotation will hopefully be like a midseason trade acquisition, manager Alex Cora said.
"Now that he is back, we have to forget about what happened earlier in the season," Cora said of Pomeranz before the game. "It's like trading for somebody right now. If he throws the ball the way he did last year, he's a big plus for us."
The left-hander made two costly mistakes Tuesday night in a 7-6 loss to the Orioles, allowing four runs -- on a pair of two-run homers -- over 4 2/3 innings. He surrendered six hits, including the homers to Jonathan Schoop and Timothy Beckham, with four strikeouts and two walks, departing with a 4-3 deficit. Pomeranz's ERA climbed to 6.91 in nine starts.
"Made two mistakes and gave up two two-run home runs. The rest of it I thought was pretty good," Pomeranz said. "Really nothing to overanalyze here. Literally two bad pitches, so that's about it."
"Better breaking ball than earlier in the season. Just made two mistakes," manager Alex Cora agreed. "His stuff was better than what we saw earlier, and the breaking ball was a lot better, so that's a positive."
Pomeranz was activated off the disabled list before the game, with infielder Tzu-Wei Lin being optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket as the corresponding move.
Pomeranz, who had a 3.32 ERA last season, has been derailed this year by a flexor strain in Spring Training and left biceps tendinitis in late May.
"I saw what he did last year. Sometimes I feel bad because when I talk about lefties, I always mention David [Price] and Chris [Sale], but [Pomeranz] was one of the best lefties in the league last year," Cora said. "It seemed like he was going to have a monster season and then he gets hurt, and we miss him."
Lin finishes up his third stint in the Majors of 2018, appearing in three games -- one each at shortstop, second base and third. In this most recent stint, Lin was 2-for-7 with a walk and three strikeouts. In 2018, he is 8-for-44 with two doubles, an RBI, five walks and 13 strikeouts.
After sending Lin down, the Red Sox have an eight-man bullpen and three-man bench.
"We like the bullpen where it is right now," Cora said. "At the same time -- I'm not complaining -- but the way we are playing we can get caught up on using the same guy after the same guy, but now keeping the bullpen that way gives me options. ... Having that extra guy out there helps us to maneuver the game."
Betts is Sox's Heart and Hustle winner
Mookie Betts secured what could possibly be his first hardware of the 2018 season Tuesday as he was named the Red Sox's recipient of the Heart and Hustle Award.
The award, announced by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association and voted on by former players, recognizes individuals who demonstrate "a passion for the game of baseball and best embody the values, spirit and traditions of the game." Betts is one of 30 finalists for the MLB-wide award, which will be announced at a later date.
Rick Porcello was the Red Sox's winner in 2017, and Dustin Pedroia was Boston's first MLB-wide winner in 2013.
"[Betts] brings energy every day. He's a good teammate, he wants to be great. Well-deserved," Cora said, adding that Red Sox such as Craig Kimbrel and Jackie Bradley Jr. also were deserving. "We have a lot of those, so I can't complain."