Gentry back on the bench tonight

BOSTON - Craig Gentry was spared Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright tonight at Fenway Park, but he never really had a chance. Not with a right-hander on the mound.

Gentry has been forced to tap the brakes since the Orioles broke camp. He played in a career-high 29 spring training games and received 53 at-bats, crafting a .321/.429/.528 slash line and proving that he could stay healthy. Getting on the field up north isn't as easy.

Gentry mostly is working in a platoon role and as a defensive replacement and pinch-runner, the roles limiting him to only seven hitless at-bats with three strikeouts. He started in right field last night against southpaw Drew Pomeranz.

"It's tough, I think, for any player to go from playing every day and getting a lot of reps and then not getting that," Gentry said. "It's definitely tough to stay confident. Obviously, you want to see results and it's just put in a tough situation. It's definitely a mental grind on that part, but I've kind of done it for my whole career and I know how to handle a lot of stuff. It is what it is. But, yeah, it's definitely tough to go from playing every game to not."

Gentry is learning that a right-handed starter for the opposition likely means he's taking a seat on the bench while Seth Smith is in right field and Hyun Soo Kim is in left. Tonight is an exception because rookie Trey Mancini is playing left, presumably because manager Buck Showalter doesn't want Kim trying to hit a knuckleball.

Showalter will meet with the media around 5:15 p.m. and provide an explanation.

Gentry owns a career .346 on-base percentage against left-handers, and the Blue Jays are starting Francisco Liriano on Thursday and J.A. Happ on Sunday.

"Definitely when a lefty's going I feel like there's at least a pretty good chance I'll be in there," Gentry said. "You've got to be prepared every day and that's just the name of the game, but when a lefty's going, you have a better idea that you'll probably be in there.

"When you know your role and kind of know what to look for and you're better prepared, it definitely makes it a lot easier, for sure."

Mancini said he faced knuckleballer Eddie Gamboa a few times in the minors and someone else in Single-A ball, though the name escaped him. So he's not a total stranger it.

For the Red Sox

Dustin Pedroia 2B
Andrew Benintendi CF
Mookie Betts RF
Hanley Ramirez DH
Mitch Moreland 1B
Xander Bogaerts SS
Pablo Sandoval 3B
Chris Young LF
Sandy Leon C

Steven Wright RHP