Red Sox manager explains why he didn’t walk Blue Jays slugger in key spot

Late in Thursday night s eventual - loss to the Toronto Blue Jays Red Sox manager Alex Cora opted to let reliever Justin Slaten face star slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr with one out a one-run lead and first base open in the bottom of the eighth inning Guerrero went on to hit a go-ahead three-run home run and after the meeting he expressed surprise that the Red Sox pitched to him in that spot The decision to pitch to Guerrero continued generating discussion throughout the day on Friday and prior to that night s championship Alex Cora addressed the issue further saying he likely would have walked Guerrero had it been a playoff challenge but that early in the season his philosophy is to trust his players I thought about it and allegedly if it s in the World Series I would have walked him Cora revealed I think the walking part of it I get it it s Vladimir Guerrero We had him - and we didn t execute pitches after that There s a two-way street here and I get it in the ALCS I ll walk him but right now in April and May I ve got to trust my guy I ve got to give Justin the leeway that he can do the job and he s been great for us The day prior he didn t execute three pitches Cora went on to say he might take a different approach the next time they face Guerrero in a big spot but in general he believes his instinct to give his players a chance to compete is the right one It s all about trust right now we have a lot of young players on this roster and where we re going well it might have been decided the day before today we might lose the Wild Card or the division by one battle and it s on me But I think the way I manage right now especially with this group you ve got to be very recipient Cora noted I truly believe this is a very talented organization it s not like last year where it s pedal to the medal pinch hit in the fifth walk this guy and try to will wins out there No you trust Justin Slaten in that situation on the previous day and it didn t happen Campbell earns rookie honor Red Sox second baseman Kristian Campbell has been honored as American League Rookie of the Month for April MLB informed Friday afternoon Campbell earned the honor after a productive first month in which he batted with four home runs RBI eight doubles walks runs scored a on-base percentage and OPS in his first career games Campbell led all qualified rookies in OBP doubles walks runs scored and extra-base hits and he reached base safely in each of his first career games The -year-old is the first Red Sox rookie to earn a monthly award since Triston Casas in July of and overall he s the th Red Sox sportsman to earn AL Rookie of the Month New York Mets second baseman Luisangel Acu a received the National League s honor