Alex Avila is back in the Tigers’ lineup

Alex Avila is tough. The guy gets beat up like crazy back behind the plate. I think he takes more foul tips, bats, and general abuse than any catcher I can remember watching on a regular basis. Just the other day he took a ball off the mask and had to have a concussion test. Not only did he not wind up with a concussion but he ended up only missing one single game:

#Tigers lineup: Jackson cf, Hunter rf, Cabrera 3b, Fielder dh, Martinez 1b, Kelly lf, Avila c, Perez 2b, Iglesias ss. Sanchez p.

— Jason Beck (@beckjason) August 10, 2013

In other Tigers catcher news, backup Brayan Pena has lately spent all of his time on Twitter talking about his “nerts,” which is how he refers to his nipples. I wish I was kidding. I wish I didn’t know that, but those are the sorts of things you learn when you live with a Tigers fan.

Anyway, Pena has taken it next level, to where he is now posting pictures of his son in the bathtub, wearing a gold chain, and raving about his “nerts” too.

THE MOST PERFECTS NERTS EVERRRRR ,,IM A PROUD DADDDDD !!!LOL !!! NERT Jr !!!! pic.twitter.com/TKiC0Id8CR

— Brayan Pena (@cuban2727) August 10, 2013

I feel like Pena would be a fun guy to hang around for a while. But just a for a while.

Red Sox southpaw David Price was lifted in the first inning of Saturday’s game against the Astros. While there was some initial concern that he might have trigged the elbow tendinitis that has been affecting him lately, manager Alex Cora was quick to clarify the situation as the result of “flu-like symptoms.”

…there with no energy and he gets hurt and the way he was throwing the ball. We were proactive. We took him out of the game, he'll get some treatment and we'll see what happens

— Jen McCaffrey (@jcmccaffrey) May 26, 2019

Price pitched just 2/3 of an inning, inducing a first-pitch fly out from Aledmys Díaz, striking out Alex Bregman, and allowing a single to Michael Brantley before making his departure from the mound. He was replaced by rookie right-hander Colten Brewer.

Barring further complications, Price will likely stay on track to make his next scheduled start during the Red Sox’ upcoming road trip. Entering Saturday’s match-up, the 33-year-old lefty carried a 2-2 record in seven starts with a 3.29 ERA, 2.2 BB/9, and 10.1 SO/9 across 41 innings in 2019.

Following Price’s removal, the Red Sox are still tied 0-0 with the Astros in the fifth.