The versatility that manager Alex Cora loves so much on his roster isn¡¯t limited to position players such as Marwin Gonzalez and Kik¨¦ Hern¨¢ndez, who can play all over the diamond.

There is also someone who fits that profile on the Red Sox pitching staff -- veteran right-hander Matt Andriese, who has been one of the most invaluable members of the team so far.

In relief, Andriese can work effectively at any point in the game, and Cora has been taking advantage of that.

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Entering Thursday Andriese had made nine appearances, posting a 1.42 ERA. It should also be noted that Andriese has starting in his background, though the Red Sox haven¡¯t needed him to do that yet.

¡°I¡¯m just feeling comfortable in all different situations I have been pitching in. We have a good group of guys in the bullpen. We kind of feed off of each other. We know the certain types of roles we pitch in. Just for myself, just being ready for whatever scenario Cora puts me in. Just take each day as it goes and try and go out there with confidence.¡±

On Tuesday night at Citi Field, Cora used Andriese in the eighth inning with a 2-1 lead, even though primary setup man Adam Ottavino was available.

¡°Obviously the end goal at the end of the day is to win a ballgame, so whatever way I can help the team do that, I¡¯m definitely available to do that,¡± said Andriese. ¡°Last year toward the end of the year, I pitched in a lot of bigger, high-leverage situations with the Angels. So I think I finished with a couple saves, two-inning saves. ¡­ So I kind of had a little familiarity in the back end of the bullpen type of role.¡±

Andriese¡¯s motto is to never be surprised when the phone rings.

¡°Just be prepared even from the fifth inning on. You can kind of shape out the way the game is going to go and who is and who is not available that day,¡± Andriese said. ¡°All that stuff runs through my head, so I just try to go out there with an attack mentality and whatever team needs, that¡¯s what I do.¡±

When the Red Sox signed Andriese to a one-year, $2.1 million deal in the offseason, it barely created a ripple on the Hot Stove. But sometimes the subtle moves are the ones that wind up making a big impact.

¡°Coming here, a lot of people thought, ¡®Hey, he¡¯s going to be a long reliever, he can do everything.¡¯ Honestly, I embrace all that,¡± Andriese said. ¡°[Chief baseball officer] Chaim [Bloom] has done a really good job of putting a good group together not just on the field but also good teammates. We all click very well with each other. It¡¯s been a fun first month. We¡¯re looking to ride it through.¡±

New surroundings
Thursday marked the first time the Red Sox have played at Globe Life Field. With that in mind, the club took batting practice on the field and did some fielding drills.

Typically, the Red Sox would stay indoors after the late arrival they had from New York in the wee hours of Thursday morning.

¡°Tomorrow, we¡¯re not going to do that, obviously, because of the traveling. But the guys wanted to take ground balls and take BP outside,¡± said Cora. ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful facility. It¡¯s huge. From the clubhouse to the field to the screens and everything, it¡¯s a beautiful facility.¡±

Franchy sits again
With no designated hitter for the two games at Citi Field, it wasn¡¯t surprising to see the slumping Franchy Cordero out of the lineup. Even though the Red Sox faced righty Kyle Gibson to open the series in Texas, Cordero again didn¡¯t start.

¡°This gives Franchy one more day of working on his swing with [hitting coaches] Timmy [Hyers] and Peter [Fatse],¡± Cora said. ¡°They¡¯re working with him. One thing is swing decisions. He needs to understand where his power is and where he should swing. He¡¯s been chasing a lot of pitches up in the zone and that changeup low and away. We start with that.¡±

Cora said that Cordero will be in the lineup on Friday and Saturday.