When he’s on the mound, Drew Ehrhard is not going to overpower any hitter. At 5-foot-9, 185-pounds, Ehrhard is not an imposing menace. If the 27-year-old infielder is pitching for the Portland Sea Dogs, it means the game went sideways early and manager Chad Epperson’s bullpen is a burnt roast.

But if a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing well. Somebody needs to be the go-to guy when there’s nobody to go to. So when called upon to eat an inning for the good of the team, Ehrhard takes the ball and gets outs.

“The approach is, go out there and throw strikes. Usually if I’m out there, it’s not the best situation for us,” Ehrhard said. “I’m not out there trying to prolong anything. I’m not out there to impress. I just want to throw strikes.”

Epperson said he can usually tell early in the week if he’s going to have to break the glass and go to Ehrhard, his emergency reliever. If his Tuesday and Wednesday starters can get at least into the middle innings, Epperson knows he won’t stretch the bullpen. And if a starter doesn’t get out of the second inning, like what happened in the home opener April 7 against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Epperson knows he might need Ehrhard at some point just to give the bullpen a break.

“He’s a team player. He doesn’t try to go in there and see how hard he can throw. Just get it over,” Epperson said. “He’s become really good at it. You never want to use him, but in 140-something odd games, there’s times he has to step up.”

Ehrhard threw 1 1/3 perfect innings on April 8 in an 11-3 loss to the Fisher Cats. He stuck out former Red Sox farmhand Cutter Coffey, who coincidentally was playing for Greenville when Ehrhard made his professional pitching debut in 2024 with the Drive.

“(Coffey) knew exactly what I had going. He had a driver in his hand and probably needed a pitching wedge,” Ehrhard said.

His second outing four days later wasn’t as sharp. Ehrhard surrendered two earned runs and gave up a home run in a 15-9 loss to New Hampshire. He did become the answer to a trivia question, though. Hitting a home run of his own, Ehrhard became the first Sea Dogs player to pitch and go deep in the same game since Brandon Leese in 1998.

While pitchers are concerned with spin rate, velocity and break, Ehrhard is concerned with getting it over the plate with less zip than midsummer Route 1 traffic.

Ehrhard said his goal is to throw the ball as slowly as he can. His signature pitch is the eephus, the slow, arcing pitch that will never be confused for a fastball. When it leaves Ehrhard’s hand, it’s usually approaching the plate around 30 miles per hour. He’s even brought it in the high 20s, he said. Ronald Rosario was behind the plate for each of Ehrhard’s pitching appearances so far this season.

“It’s certainly entertaining, for one. He’s up on the mound doing his thing,” Rosario said through translator Juan Rivera, Portland’s pitching coach. “Good vibes when he’s out there, just trying to get the ball over the plate.”

Hitters used to stuff coming in at more than 90 miles per hour aren’t ready to face Ehrhard’s snail’s-pace heater, which crumples up a hitter’s timing. You can end up cartoonishly in front of the pitch, popping it up or hitting a weak grounder.

Ehrhard has pitched in nine games in his career. In 10 innings, he has a respectable 3.60 earned-run average, and he hasn’t walked a batter. He did hit a batter in 2024, but coming in at 30 miles per hour, it probably felt like a raindrop.

This baseball side hustle began for Ehrhard when he played for the High A Greenville Drive in 2024. Serving as bullpen catcher in a game when reliever after reliever was called on, word came from the Drive dugout for him to get loose. He entered with the bases loaded and one out, and got a ground ball back to the mound for an inning-ending double play.

“Pitchers should always be trying to create problems hitters don’t have a solution to, and these guys are struggling to come up with a solution for the 30-mile-an-hour rando coming at them,” Ehrhard said.

To Ehrhard, it’s all part of being a team guy, doing whatever needs to be done. You won’t see his name on any list of Boston’s top prospects, but it commands respect in the clubhouse for the way he goes about his business and willingness to do anything. In his pro career, Ehrhard has played every infield position except shortstop. He hasn’t seen game action in the outfield yet.

Yet.