Alex Cora and the Red Sox are not all that into pinch-hitting.

With just 34 pinch-hit at-bats this season, only three teams — Royals, Rangers and Yankees — have fewer.

To Cora, the act of sending in a hitter cold from the bench to do a job better than someone who already has had three or four at-bats in that game, is one to be used sparingly, if at all.

“I feel that way. Personally I feel that way,” the manager said. “I had to pinch-hit in the National League and I wasn’t a good hitter by any means, and all that, but to pinch-hit, there’s not too many good ones out there. Manny Mota, Dave Hansen, Lenny Harris. Besides that you don’t remember too many good pinch hitters.”

Cora is being a bit modest about his pinch-hitting accomplishments, at least relative to his own career stats. In 131 career pinch-hit at-bats, Cora collected 32 hits, including one homer, for a .244 batting average and .626 OPS. His career stats: .243 batting average, .648 OPS.

But Cora’s point is that not only do the Red Sox have a deep lineup, but it’s one that he tends to believe will come through more often than not and certainly more often than another hitter off the bench.

He said he does not want to hear about somebody being 1-for-5, 2-for-5 or 3-for-5 against a certain reliever as the basis for making a switch.

But he left the door open for doing it when it makes more sense.

“We did the other day with (Brock) Holt and (Eduardo) Nunez. It all depends, it all depends,” said Cora. “Like (right-handed hitting) Steve Pearce. We’ve got Holt, we’ve got (Rafael) Devers — they bring in a lefty, Pearce is an option. It all depends, man. It’s kind of like, who’s on the mound, who we’ve got on the bench, where we’re at. It’s not like because they bring in a righty, you bring in a lefty, it doesn’t work that way — for me, that’s all I meant.”

Before Cora admitted yesterday that he was covering for Mitch Moreland’s sore knee, he was asked after Thursday’s game if he thought about using Moreland to come in and pinch-hit with the Red Sox down one run.

His answer yesterday remained the same as Thursday’s.

No, he wasn’t going to use Moreland as a pinch hitter at that time.

“Not in that situation, no,” said Cora. “Blake (Swihart) is swinging the bat well the last 10, 15 days, Jackie (Bradley Jr.) we all know, he’s probably one of our best hitters. I wasn’t going to hit for Raffy. Holt, he’s (had) a good at-bat against him. The only one, probably Pearce, but not really.”

All that said, Cora does try to prepare himself for calling for a spare bat at a key moment, and that preparation does not begin on the fly.

It’s much earlier than that.

“The pinch-hitting thing?” said Cora. “Like four days ago.”