Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 9, 2022 3:32:38 GMT -5
Poor pitching, from both veterans and needed youngsters, at core of Red Sox skid
By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated July 8, 2022, 7:46 p.m.
Alex Cora spent 8 minutes and 52 seconds taking questions from reporters on Friday afternoon. All but 30 seconds was spent discussing myriad issues with the pitching staff. And that was before a 12-5 loss against the Yankees.
There’s a lot of ground to cover these days when it comes to Sox pitchers. In alphabetical order, Matt Barnes, Tyler Danish, Nate Eovaldi, Rich Hill, James Paxton, Chris Sale, Josh Taylor, Michael Wacha, and Garrett Whitlock are on the injured list.
For weeks, there have been temporary lockers set up in the middle of the clubhouse for all the pitchers they’ve had to call up from Triple A Worcester to fill the gaps. The Sox have made roster moves on six of the last seven days. All involved pitchers.
Another is expected on Saturday, when a third consecutive rookie, righthander Kutter Crawford, will face the Yankees on Saturday night.
Globe colleague Alex Speier did the research. This will be the first time since 1969 the Red Sox will start three rookies age 26 or younger in a series against the Yankees.
These young pitchers could one day be mainstays, but they’re not ready for the Yankees. New York has scored 18 runs on 21 hits in the first two games of the series.
Eovaldi, Hill, and Wacha are responsible for 49.6 percent of the innings thrown by Sox starters this season. The farm system is deeper in pitching talent than it has been in years, but replacing three starters at the same time has been too much to ask.
“It’s a challenge, but it’s part of 162 [games]-plus,” Cora said. “That’s the way I see it. They’re not going to feel sorry for us. Tampa is not going to feel sorry for us. The Cubs are not going to feel sorry for us. We’ve just got to keep going out there and play.
“One of the things that we have to do, regardless of who’s on the mound, we’ve got to throw strikes. It’s not only the kids, it’s been veterans that haven’t done the job either.”
The statistics confirm that. The Sox swept a three-game series at Cleveland from June 24-26 to reach the third-best record in the American League. The Sox have lost eight of 11 since. Their pitchers have a 5.42 ERA in those games — 7.61 for the starters.
The offense has dropped off, too, particularly with men on base, but success or failure invariably comes back to pitching.
The walks are what aggravate Cora, and rightly so. Rookie Josh Winckowski walked struggling Joey Gallo to lead off the third inning on Thursday night, then pitched around Giancarlo Stanton to load the bases with two outs.
That forced Winckowski to throw a strike to Josh Donaldson, which he buried in center-field seats for a grand slam. It was the pivotal swing in a 6-5 loss.
“We’ve been walking too many people. Regardless of the lineup it doesn’t matter,” Cora said. “We’ve been preaching strike one and it hasn’t happened.”
Another rookie, Connor Seabold, threw strikes on Friday, and one of them was drilled into the Monster Seats by Donaldson for a three-run homer in the first inning. Seabold left the game in the fourth with pain in his forearm. He’ll be examined further on Saturday.
The Yankees led, 9-2, by the fourth. Jackie Bradley Jr. pitched the ninth and allowed one run. That passes for a solid outing lately.
Is there any good news? Maybe. The pregame briefing included the news that Sale would be activated from the injured list to start Tuesday’s game at Tampa Bay.
Sale has missed approximately 59 starts since agreeing to a five-year, $145 million extension before the 2019 season. Putting the rotation on his shoulders in the second half would do a lot to atone for that.
Eovaldi is scheduled to pitch for Triple A Worcester on Sunday and it’s possible he could be in the rotation in New York next weekend. There’s also hope that Wacha’s time on the injured list will be brief. If the Sox can stay afloat, a rotation of Sale, Eovaldi, Wacha, Hill, and Nick Pivetta would be competitive.
For now, it’s a lot of questions and not many good answers.
By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated July 8, 2022, 7:46 p.m.
Alex Cora spent 8 minutes and 52 seconds taking questions from reporters on Friday afternoon. All but 30 seconds was spent discussing myriad issues with the pitching staff. And that was before a 12-5 loss against the Yankees.
There’s a lot of ground to cover these days when it comes to Sox pitchers. In alphabetical order, Matt Barnes, Tyler Danish, Nate Eovaldi, Rich Hill, James Paxton, Chris Sale, Josh Taylor, Michael Wacha, and Garrett Whitlock are on the injured list.
For weeks, there have been temporary lockers set up in the middle of the clubhouse for all the pitchers they’ve had to call up from Triple A Worcester to fill the gaps. The Sox have made roster moves on six of the last seven days. All involved pitchers.
Another is expected on Saturday, when a third consecutive rookie, righthander Kutter Crawford, will face the Yankees on Saturday night.
Globe colleague Alex Speier did the research. This will be the first time since 1969 the Red Sox will start three rookies age 26 or younger in a series against the Yankees.
These young pitchers could one day be mainstays, but they’re not ready for the Yankees. New York has scored 18 runs on 21 hits in the first two games of the series.
Eovaldi, Hill, and Wacha are responsible for 49.6 percent of the innings thrown by Sox starters this season. The farm system is deeper in pitching talent than it has been in years, but replacing three starters at the same time has been too much to ask.
“It’s a challenge, but it’s part of 162 [games]-plus,” Cora said. “That’s the way I see it. They’re not going to feel sorry for us. Tampa is not going to feel sorry for us. The Cubs are not going to feel sorry for us. We’ve just got to keep going out there and play.
“One of the things that we have to do, regardless of who’s on the mound, we’ve got to throw strikes. It’s not only the kids, it’s been veterans that haven’t done the job either.”
The statistics confirm that. The Sox swept a three-game series at Cleveland from June 24-26 to reach the third-best record in the American League. The Sox have lost eight of 11 since. Their pitchers have a 5.42 ERA in those games — 7.61 for the starters.
The offense has dropped off, too, particularly with men on base, but success or failure invariably comes back to pitching.
The walks are what aggravate Cora, and rightly so. Rookie Josh Winckowski walked struggling Joey Gallo to lead off the third inning on Thursday night, then pitched around Giancarlo Stanton to load the bases with two outs.
That forced Winckowski to throw a strike to Josh Donaldson, which he buried in center-field seats for a grand slam. It was the pivotal swing in a 6-5 loss.
“We’ve been walking too many people. Regardless of the lineup it doesn’t matter,” Cora said. “We’ve been preaching strike one and it hasn’t happened.”
Another rookie, Connor Seabold, threw strikes on Friday, and one of them was drilled into the Monster Seats by Donaldson for a three-run homer in the first inning. Seabold left the game in the fourth with pain in his forearm. He’ll be examined further on Saturday.
The Yankees led, 9-2, by the fourth. Jackie Bradley Jr. pitched the ninth and allowed one run. That passes for a solid outing lately.
Is there any good news? Maybe. The pregame briefing included the news that Sale would be activated from the injured list to start Tuesday’s game at Tampa Bay.
Sale has missed approximately 59 starts since agreeing to a five-year, $145 million extension before the 2019 season. Putting the rotation on his shoulders in the second half would do a lot to atone for that.
Eovaldi is scheduled to pitch for Triple A Worcester on Sunday and it’s possible he could be in the rotation in New York next weekend. There’s also hope that Wacha’s time on the injured list will be brief. If the Sox can stay afloat, a rotation of Sale, Eovaldi, Wacha, Hill, and Nick Pivetta would be competitive.
For now, it’s a lot of questions and not many good answers.