Why Red Sox had to call last-minute audible in naming Wednesday's starter

Before Tuesday night's game in Cleveland, Alex Cora smartly wouldn't fully commit to his plan for Wednesday's starter. But he did make clear what his intentions were: starting Nathan Eovaldi.

"We’ll see what happens today but if we don’t have to use Nate, he’s going to start tomorrow," Cora told reporters.

Well, as it turned out, they had to use Nate.

Cora was forced to change his plans thanks to an Indians' comeback Tuesday, bringing in Eovaldi to retire the final two outs of the eighth inning. The righty adeptly did his job, fanning Roberto Perez before getting Jason Kipnis to ground out.

While the outing only added up to six pitches for Eovaldi, it ultimately led to a new starter for the series finale. After the Red Sox' 7-6, 10-inning win over the Indians Cora announced Brian Johnson would be getting the nod. The manager did note that Eovaldi would be available.

The move to use Eovaldi when Cora did -- along with some of the other maneuvers used by the Sox' manager in the win -- offered an example of the Red Sox' mindset heading into the final 40 games.

"I don't want to sound too dramatic about it, but hey, our playoffs started earlier than other teams," the Sox manager told reporters. "If you want to make it, it should be like this every game."

For a complete recap of the Red Sox' victory, click here.