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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 3:04:26 GMT -5
Red Sox notebook: Franchy Cordero continuing to make huge strides offensively since promotion
First baseman controlling strike zone at high level
By Steve Hewitt | stephen.hewitt@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald
PUBLISHED: May 17, 2022 at 8:00 p.m. | UPDATED: May 17, 2022 at 8:08 p.m.
When he was acquired in the Andrew Benintendi trade last year, the Red Sox lauded Franchy Cordero’s raw talent — a rare blend of power and speed — and what he could do when he put it all together.
There haven’t been many chances for Cordero to showcase that athleticism, but he’s shown glimpses of his potential in the two-plus weeks since being called up to the Sox.
Cordero exhibited it some on Monday, when he scored the Red Sox a run with his legs. In an impressive display of his skills, he crushed a Jake Odorizzi fastball high off the Monster — with an exit velocity of 104.3 mph that slammed off the wall, which would usually only be good for a wall-ball single — but he motored around first with a mission and slid into second with a double. He ultimately scored the go-ahead run.
Quality at-bats like that one were few and far between last season but are happening with more regularity since he was promoted in late April to replace Travis Shaw. Entering Tuesday, he had a .341 on-base percentage in 41 plate appearances since his promotion, a stretch that included six walks and just seven strikeouts. His strikeout rate has improved from 37.5% last season to just 17.1% to start this season, a credit to his vastly improved plate discipline and strike zone control.
“He’s been working hard,” Sox manager Alex Cora said. “He went to winter ball, did a good job down there, came to spring training with no expectations, just trying to get better. He did an amazing job this spring … We’re going to keep getting him at bats. He keeps controlling the zone, getting on base and that’s something we need and he’s been doing that so far.”
Cordero is continuing to get starts — he made his sixth in the Red Sox’ last seven on Tuesday — as he keeps getting opportunities against right-handed pitching ahead of Bobby Dalbec, who has struggled to start the season. First base has mostly been a black hole in the Red Sox’ lineup but Cordero’s emergence is providing much-needed production, and he’s gaining needed confidence.
“He won’t talk about it,” Cora said. “He’s a very humble kid, he just keeps his head down and keeps working but you can tell. Those at-bats (Monday) were really good. … I know it’s been up and down and expectations. He’s not a prospect anymore, he’s 27, 28. It’s about contributing and doing your job and so far he’s done that.”
Schreiber continues to impress
John Schreiber has entered Cora’s circle of trust.
The right-handed reliever had seemed to be a temporary replacement, called up for the Toronto series as a fill-in when Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford couldn’t pitch and then when Rich Hill recently tested positive for COVID-19. But when Hill returned last weekend, the Red Sox chose to keep Schreiber around.
Schreiber had still yet to yield a run in seven appearances entering Tuesday night, which included his first career save last week in Atlanta, as he’s evolved into a secret weapon for Cora. In Monday’s win, he stranded two runners in the sixth with a big strikeout to end the inning. He was likely to be used again in the seventh before a lengthy rain delay.
“He’s a guy that we liked in spring training,” Cora said. “It’s one of those, rosters and all that stuff comes into consideration. I always said, the puzzle is not finalized the first day of opening day. The roster is finalized the last day in October, the last game in October.
“But we knew he was going to contribute. We knew he was going to be very important for us and he’s going to face lefties and righties and it’s a tough matchup so we like him. Where he was last year, compared to now, stuff-wise, it’s night and day. … The stuff that he took to get to this point is eye opening and we’re very proud of him.”
Cora was asked if there was a moment this season he realized a difference in Schreiber, and he pointed to what he’s heard from opposing teams and the improved quality of his sinker and four-seam fastball.
“If you don’t believe the stuff in the beginning but then you see Vladdy (Guerrero) with the swings and most of those guys, third basemen especially, they talk to Carlos (Febles) and they let you know how good or bad you are,” Cora said. “There’s been a lot of good feedback from the opposition and we love the stuff. When you throw strikes with that, you gain confidence and we trust those guys and so far he’s been amazing for us.”
Wacha set for weekend return
It seems to be highly likely that Red Sox starter Michael Wacha will be ready to pitch in a game this weekend when he’s eligible to come off the injured list. Wacha pitched a two-inning, 35-pitch sim game on Monday and will throw another short bullpen session on Wednesday.
Wacha — who’s on the injured list with left intercostal irritation — is eligible to return Friday.
“It feels that way, yeah,” Cora said of Wacha returning this weekend. “I mean, I think yesterday was good. He came in today feeling good. Now one more step, it’s a short one, too, so then we’ll decide what we do.” …
Brayan Bello, the Red Sox’ top pitching prospect, will make his Triple-A debut on Wednesday night when he starts for Worcester at Polar Park. Bello dominated to start the season with Double-A Portland, producing a 1.60 ERA in six starts, which included a seven-inning no-hitter. …
Odorizzi was placed on the 15-day injured list with lower left leg discomfort after a scary-looking fall on Monday night that required him to be stretchered off at Fenway Park.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 3:06:18 GMT -5
Christopher Smith
@smittyonmlb
·
6h
Red Sox's Nathan Eovaldi has allowed 14 homers in 41 ⅔ innings (3.0 homers per nine innings) this year.
He allowed just 15 home runs in 182 ⅓ innings (0.7 homers per nine innings) last year.
The remarkable thing, Eovaldi's ERA is only 4.32 after all that. 3 of the 9 runs were unearned.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 3:09:23 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 8h No magic formula by the Astros, straight up dog shit location by Eovaldi.  |
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 3:28:28 GMT -5
Astros @ Red Sox
Wednesday, 18th May 2022
6pm @ Fenway
Garcia 3-1/2.94
Pivetta 1-4/5.08
Houston Astros vs. Boston Red Sox
Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at 6:10pm EDT
Written by Mason Folz
This Wednesday the (23-13) Houston Astros and the (14-21) Boston Red Sox will play their final game of this three-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 6:10 PM EST inside Fenway Park. The Red Sox were able to take care of business at home in the first game of the series, as they won 6-3.
The Houston Astros were coming into this one after taking two of three games from the Washington Nationals. They looked great on the defensive side of the field in those two wins. The Astros also struggled at the plate in the first game of this series.
The Boston Red Sox entered this series after taking two of three games from the struggling Texas Rangers. The Red Sox's bats were on fire in their two wins in that series and that trend continued into the first game against the Astros.
This game was published/written before last night’s results.
The Astros are Rolling to Begin this Season
The Houston Astros have jumped out to a solid start to begin this new 2022 regular season. They are currently in first place in the AL West. On the offensive side of the field, the Astros are scoring 4.28 runs per game and hitting .229 to begin this season. This is currently the 12th most runs scored per game and the 19th lowest team batting average. They have struggled to consistently reach base safely, but they have had multiple men make up for their lack of contact with their home runs. The Astros are averaging 1.39 bombs per game, which is the third-highest average in the league. They have a very deep batting order and they have faith in the middle of their order to drive in runs. Houston has also been one of the least aggressive base running teams in the league. They have only taken 16 bases, which is the 19th least in the MLB. They would benefit from moving their runners into scoring position earlier in the inning, as they would have more chances to hit with men in scoring position. I would watch for Michael Brantley at the plate in this game. He has been the most consistent hitter for the Astros this season, as he is hitting .281. This is the highest batting average on his team and I expect him to reach base multiple times in this game.
On the defensive side of the field, the Astros have also been one of the best teams in the league. They are currently allowing 2.98 runs per game and have a combined team WHIP rating of 1.12. This is the third least amount of runs allowed per game and the sixth-lowest team WHIP rating. They are keeping their opponents off the base paths for the majority of the game and it is making it very difficult for the opposing offense. Houston has also recorded 15 quality starts this season, which is the third most in the MLB. They aren't having to rely on their bullpen early in these games and their starters are showing that they can attack opposing teams whenever they would like. In the field, the Astros have also been solid. They have only committed 12 errors, which is the third least amount of mistakes made in the field this season. The Astros keep the ball in front of themselves and always know where to go with the ball. According to MLB.com, Luis Garcia will be getting the start on the mound in this one. He has started this season (3-1) with a 2.94 ERA. He also has a .95 WHIP rating, which is one of the lowest on his team. He hasn't allowed many base runners this season and he will continue to try and attack the Red Sox when they are at the plate.
The Red Sox need Offense
The Boston Red Sox have not started this season how they would have liked, but they still have plenty of time to turn this season around. They are currently in fourth place in the AL East. On the offensive side of the field, the Sox are scoring 3.77 runs per game and have a .229 team batting average. This is the 23rd most runs scored per game and the 14th highest team batting average. They can put the ball in play, but they have shown that they struggle when they have men in scoring position. Boston has also realized that they don't have as much home run power as they originally thought. They are only averaging .62 bombs per game, which is the 28th lowest average in the MLB. The Red Sox need to start consistently reaching base if they want to start scoring more runs on the offensive side of the field. I would also expect Boston to stay fairly conservative on the base paths, as they have only stolen eight bases this season. They might want to start considering being more aggressive once they have reached base, as the Red Sox would benefit from more base runners getting into scoring position. I would watch for Xander Bogaerts at the plate in this game. He has been the most consistent hitter for the Red Sox, as he is hitting .346 to begin this new season. This is the highest batting average on the team and I expect him to be aggressive at the plate in this one.
On the defensive side of the field, the Red Sox also has some work to do. They are currently allowing 3.73 runs per game and have a combined team WHIP rating of 1.18. This is the 14th least amount of runs allowed per game and the 10th lowest team WHIP rating in the MLB. They are keeping their opponents off the base paths and it is making it much more difficult for the offense to score. Boston would also like for their starter to go deeper into this game. They have only recorded seven quality starts this season, which is the 25th lowest number of quality starts recorded. They are having to rely on their bullpen early in these games, as their starters have struggled. According to MLB.com, Nick Pivetta will be getting the start on the mound in this game. He has started this season (1-4) with a 5.08 ERA. He has struggled in his first few starts this season, as he has allowed too many base runners early in these games. He also has a 1.40 WHIP rating, which is one of the highest on his team. He will need to keep the Astros off the bases if he wants to avoid being yanked from this game early.
Astros
at
Red Sox
Wednesday, at 6:10 PM EST
Clear
According to Forecast.io, it's expected to be 68° F with a 0% chance of precipitation and 6 MPH wind blowing left to right in Boston at 6:10 PM EST.
Hourly Forecasts: Weather.com Forecast.io
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 10:00:41 GMT -5
What’s behind Nick Pivetta’s recent turnaround?
The righty looks to make it three strong starts in a row on Wednesday.By Matt_Collins@MattRyCollins May 18, 2022, 10:30am EDT 1 Comment The Red Sox are looking to come back from an absolutely hideous loss on Tuesday in which Nathan Eovaldi tied a major-league record allowing five home runs in a single inning, and they turn to Nick Pivetta to try and salvage this series and still take two of three from the Astros. Pivetta has been one of the stories of this rough start to the season, coming in as the team’s de facto number two starter and looking to take a leap from what was already an impressive 2021 relative to expectations but ultimately scuffling mightily in the first month of the season. His overall numbers for 2022 still don’t look very good, but there is some reason for confidence tonight as Pivetta has certainly looked much improved over his last two or three starts. Consider that through the month of April, the former Phillie had pitched to an 8.27 ERA through four starts with a FIP of 6.70 that wasn’t much better. His control was all over the place, and when he was hitting the zone it was mostly getting crushed. But in May, things have looked much better with a 2.08 ERA over three starts to go with a 1.47 FIP. Pivetta is always something of a rollercoaster, of course, which is why there were so many believers even after he flamed out in Philadelphia, but this has been an extreme. Still, something is clearly different, but we want to pin down exactly what has changed and if it’s something that we can see continuing, or at least staying in the general ballpark of this performance, moving forward. To start with, I think we have to acknowledge that the schedule has been much more favorable for Pivetta in his recent starts compared to April. Over his first four starts he faced the Yankees, the Twins, and then the Blue Jays twice. By wRC+, both the Yankees and Twins have been top 10 offenses this season (with New York holding down the top spot), while Toronto has been more middling but certainly has big names that can beat any pitcher. Meanwhile in May, he has faced the Orioles, White Sox, and Rangers, all of whom are in the bottom third of the league by wRC+. So it would be disingenuous to mention this improvement from the Red Sox righty without mentioning the glaring difference in schedule. At the same time, there have been other tangible improvements made that should theoretically get his performance back to an equilibrium even against strong opponents. A lot of that has to do with his control and walk rate. Over his first four starts, Pivetta walked a whopping 16.7 percent of his opponents. Since the start of May, he’s walked only two batters for a 1.5 percent rate. Some of that comes down to simply hitting the zone more often, with a four percentage point increase getting his zone rate up to roughly 45 percent in his last three starts, but it’s also getting chases. Below you can see a game-by-game visual representation of how many swings Pivetta has been getting on pitches out of the zone compared to how often he hits the zone. He’s been striking a nice balance between zone rate and chase (O-Swing) rate. :format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23533575/Screen_Shot_2022_05_18_at_10.22.20_AM.png) A lot of this is also reflected in the improved quality of his breaking stuff, which is hugely important for him given how little he throws his changeup. If his breaking stuff is getting hit hard, he’s just not going to succeed. Looking at his early starts on Baseball Savant, at least one of his breaking balls — he leans on both a slider and a curveball — was getting hit hard in those outings. More recently, both pitches have performed well in part because he’s getting better break on them and making them appear more enticing to his opponent, leading to more of those aforementioned chases. And while it’s the breaking balls that are getting better results, to me it looks like a lot of this comes down to the fastball, which serves to set up the other pitches for Pivetta. It’s a very common approach for pitchers in today’s game to keep the fastball up in the zone to set up for attacking down in the zone with offspeed and breaking stuff later in the count. Early in the season, Pivetta was not doing a good job of that, with his fastballs either missing way above the zone in non-competitive spots or, worse, missing in the middle of the zone and getting crushed. More recently, he’s done a better job of peppering the top of the zone and just above it to keep hitters honest in that zone before dropping the breaking ball and getting those swings and misses and weak contact on pitches out of the zone. I won’t waste your RAM posting the zone plots from every game, but as an example below is a comparison of his last start against the Rangers and one of his early starts against the Twins.   Tonight is a big start for Pivetta even taking away the significance for the team trying to win a second straight series. He will be facing an Astros team that looks a lot more like his April competition than May, ranking second in baseball this year in wRC+. One start won’t give a whole answer, of course, but we’ll be closer to knowing if this turnaround has been more about competition or real change. To me, it looks like there is some real change here with his fastball command and everything else that can dovetail off of that. If Pivetta is locating that fastball where he wants and avoiding non-competitive offerings and meatballs over the plate, I think he can hold his own, even if he’s not quite as dominant as his last few outings. If not, it could be another long night, for us as fans and for the bullpen. |
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 10:05:19 GMT -5
Mastrodonato: Here’s why the Astros are planets apart from the Red Sox this year
By Jason Mastrodonato | jason.mastrodonato@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald
PUBLISHED: May 18, 2022 at 5:34 a.m. | UPDATED: May 18, 2022 at 7:08 a.m.
What happens when you take the most powerful offense in baseball, match them up against the pitcher who has allowed the most home runs in baseball and put them in Fenway Park with 25 mph winds?
It’s not rocket science. Just rockets.
The Houston Astros blasted off on Nathan Eovaldi and the Red Sox in a 13-4 win on Tuesday night.
“Every ball they hit, they were hitting it hard and they were flying out,” Eovaldi said.
And while it could be written off as an anomaly because of high winds and a baseball that looked determined to stay in the air as long as possible, it shouldn’t be.
Eovaldi is struggling and the Astros are loaded with power up and down the lineup. They slugged five homers off Eovaldi in the second inning alone, becoming the third team in MLB history to hit five homers off a single pitcher in a single inning. They added a grand slam off Tyler Danish in the fourth inning, too.
They’ve got an MLB-best 55 home runs (the Red Sox have 24) and are doing it in a way that’s different than they did it when Alex Cora was there in 2017.
“They got pitches to hit and didn’t miss them,” Cora said, adding that the Astros have “a fast-break offense; they attack early and hit the ball in the air.”
Here’s a surprising statistic: the Astros actually aren’t very aggressive.
It’s a team that swings at a below-average rate (46.6%) but makes contact better than most teams in the league (77.3%). This team simply doesn’t chase bad pitches. Most of their swings are in the zone.
In that way, Dusty Baker’s Astros are the anti-Red Sox.
Eovaldi explained that he had a gameplan and a backup gameplan on Tuesday night, but “if neither one of them work and they’re just attacking everything, it’s kind of a helpless feeling out there.”
The Astros have six players with at least four homers; the Red Sox have two. They’ve got seven players with an OPS-plus of 119 or better; the Sox have three, and every other player has an OPS-plus of 95 or lower. Nine Astros regulars have an on-base percentage of .282 or better; the Red Sox have three.
We can talk about the Red Sox’ bullpen until the cows come home, but that’s not what’s separating the Sox from the other top teams in the American League.
Look around: The Astros are leading MLB in homers. The Yankees are second and Aaron Judge has 14 of them. The Angels are third. All three of those teams have 24 wins or more. The Red Sox rank 27th in homers. They have 14 wins.
Baseball is trying to get away from a sport that relies on the three true outcomes, but it remains one. It’s a big reason why the Red Sox shelled out $140 million to Trevor Story, who hit a home run every 18 at-bats while with the Rockies, but is hitting one home run per 60 at-bats with the Red Sox.
The Sox’ offense is better than it has shown, but it’s getting killed in two areas: overall power, and depth behind its top-three hitters.
Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez have combined to hit 15 home runs. The rest of the team has nine.
Story is underperforming, but where else can the Sox expect to have an offensive resurgence? Kiké Hernandez is better than he’s shown, but he’s not an offensive superstar; simply a good player who does all the little things well. The Sox were banking on Alex Verdugo taking a big step forward, but he’s been in a month-long slump. There’s no answer at first base, a defensive specialist in right field and an adequate catching tandem.
Meanwhile, the Astros have two guys (Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve) with 40-home run seasons in the books, three more guys with 30-homer seasons (Kyle Tucker, Yuli Gurriel and Yordan Alvarez) and a rookie, Jeremy Pena, who is looking like the next Carlos Correa.
“They came out swinging and they didn’t miss any pitches,” catcher Kevin Plawecki said. ”I haven’t seen it. They’re good hitters, and it’s a testament to what those guys do over there. They’ve been doing it for a long time. And you know, it’s always a fun battle going against those guys. They have a good lineup.”
They also have one of the game’s true aces, Justin Verlander, a good supporting staff around him.
And no, the Red Sox don’t need to be the Astros. Few teams are that talented.
But the home run explosion at Fenway Park on Tuesday night was a reminder of how far apart these two teams are right now.
Planets apart.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 10:07:15 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 38m Kiké had a hard hit rate of 43% in 2020, 43% in 2021, and was hitting 1 out of every 2 hard by the end of last season... so far in 2022 he has a 26% hard hit rate which is bottom 5% in MLB. 31% in April, 18% in May. No idea what is going on here.  |
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 13:31:29 GMT -5
Game 37: Astros at Red Sox lineups and notes, and don’t forget this one starts early tonightBy Andrew Mahoney Globe Staff,Updated May 18, 2022, 11:20 a.m. The Red Sox will look to take the rubber match of their three-game series with the Astros Wednesday. Houston’s offense came alive in the second inning Tuesday, pounding Sox starter Nate Eovaldi for five home runs en route to a 13-4 victory. The Sox allowed nine runs and eight hits in that second, their most in an inning since last August. Nick Pivetta will be on the mound to try to slow down Houston’s offensive onslaught. Tonight’s game has an early start time of 6:10 p.m. Here is a preview. Lineups
ASTROS (24-13):1. Jose Altuve (R) 2B 2. Michael Brantley (L) LF 3. Aledmys Diaz (R) 3B 4. Yordan Alvarez (L) DH 5. Yuli Gurriel (R) 1B 6. Kyle Tucker (L) RF 7. Chas McCormick (R) CF 8. Jeremy Pena (R) SS 9. Martin Maldonado (R) C Pitching: RHP Luis Garcia (3-1, 2.94 ERA) RED SOX (14-22): 1. Enrique Hernandez (R) CF 2. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 3. J.D. Martinez (R) DH 4. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS 5. Alex Verdugo (L) LF 6. Trevor Story (R) 2B 7. Franchy Cordero (L) RF 8. Bobby Dalbec (R) 1B 9. Christian Vazquez (R) C Pitching: RHP Nick Pivetta (1-4, 5.08 ERA) Time: 6:10 p.m. TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7 Astros vs. Pivetta: Jose Altuve 1-4, Yordan Alvarez 0-2, Alex Bregman 1-4, Jason Castro 0-2, Aledmys Díaz 1-5, Yuli Gurriel 1-5, Martín Maldonado 0-2, Kyle Tucker 2-3 Red Sox vs. Garcia: Xander Bogaerts 0-3, Rafael Devers 0-3, Kiké Hernández 0-2, J.D. Martinez 0-3, Trevor Story 1-3, Alex Verdugo 2-3, Christian Vázquez 1-3 Stat of the day: Martinez’s 34-game on-base streak is tied with Dustin Pedroia (2016) for the second-longest by a Red Sox player in the last 10 seasons (Mookie Betts went 36 games in 2015). Notes: After struggling in his first three starts, Pivetta has produced a 2.45 ERA over his past four. He is 0-2 with a 5.25 ERA in two career starts against the Astros. … Devers has an 11-game hitting streak and a career-high on-base streak of 21 games. He’s batting .444 with a 1.279 OPS over the hitting streak. … Garcia has posted 23 strikeouts and a 1.50 ERA over his past 18 innings and three starts. In his one regular-season appearance against the Red Sox last season, he allowed one run on five hits and one walk with six strikeouts over seven innings in a 5-1 home victory June 1. In the ALCS, Garcia was the losing pitcher in Game 2, but the winning pitcher in the deciding Game 6, a 5-0 Astros victory in which Garcia pitched into the fifth inning and allowed only one hit while striking out seven.
Song of the Day: Eric Clapton : San Fransisco Bay Blueswww.youtube.com/watch?v=qKi3ruCmZxk
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 14:59:56 GMT -5
Chris Cotillo
@chriscotillo
·
22m
Barring a setback, Michael Wacha will come off the IL and start Friday. Cora said Darwinzon Hernandez (MCL sprain) will be "down for a while."
So it looks like it will be Hill, Wacha, Whitlock and Eovaldi against the Mariners this weekend.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 19:58:00 GMT -5
Red Sox 5, Astros 1: Nick Pivetta does the damn thing
And the Red Sox win a second straight series.
By Matt_Collins@MattRyCollins May 18, 2022, 8:55pm EDT
Any concern that the recent turnaround from Nick Pivetta was mostly a product of facing some of the bottom tier lineups in the game can now be put to rest after what he did on Wednesday night. Things started off a bit bleakly with José Altuve capping off a 10-pitch at bat with a solo homer, but he’d be the only Astros hitter among the first 19 to step to the plate who reached base. Pivetta was absolutely dominant after the home run to finish a complete game two-hitter, and against one of the better lineups in the game to boot. Throw in five runs from the offense, led by Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts, and the Red Sox won a second straight series for the first time this season.
More robust game notes below.
Even after the homer fest from the Astros on Tuesday that led to a nine-run loss that was over before the game was halfway through, the Red Sox still had a chance for their best series win of the season, and their second series win in a row if they could come out on top on Wednesday night. Nick Pivetta got the ball for Boston, looking to keep up his recent hot streak and keep the Astros in the yard. Considering that, things got off to a pretty demoralizing start. José Altuve was in the leadoff spot for Houston, and he worked a great at bat against Pivetta, fouling off four two-strike offerings before jumping on a mistake. Pivetta tried to get a fastball up in the zone by Altuve, who was ready for it and sent it out into the Monster Seats for a leadoff homer.
Given what had happened last night, just how long that at bat was, and how most of his season has been, it was easy to feel pessimistic about how the rest of the night was going to go for Pivetta. But he turned those expectations on their head. He retired the next three batters he faced to get out of the first, and then continued mowing down Astros from there. In all, he retired 18 in a row after the home run to get through the sixth inning having only allowed the one run. It was mostly just great pitching from him, commanding the fastball as discussed in the linked post above and putting away great hitters with terrific breaking balls.
And while Pivetta was rolling through this game, the offense was giving him run support to work with a lead. They didn’t waste much time getting on the board after Altuve’s homer, starting with the red-hot Rafael Devers hitting a rocket of a triple out to right field. He’d quickly come home on a J.D. Martinez sacrifice fly, and then Xander Bogaerts gave Boston the lead. He got a cutter that stayed over the plate and up in the zone and deposited it into the first row of Monster Seats to put the Red Sox up by a run.
The offense would keep it going in the third inning, this time with some help from the Astros defense. On an Enrique Hernández ground ball to shortstop, Jeremy Peña’s throw was a bit too low for Yuli Gurriel to handle, putting the leadoff man on with an error. (It was charged to Peña, though it seemed like Gurriel should have had it.) That brought Devers to the plate with a runner on, and he came through again, this time smoking a double off the Monster. Hernández read it well off the bat and scurried all the way around to make it a 3-1 game.
Moving ahead to the fourth, the offense once again was able to extend their lead. This time around things started with a Trevor Story walk, which was followed by more poor defense from Houston, this time with Altuve miffing a fairly routine ground ball. Story should have gotten to third with the Astros playing in the shift and no one covering that bag, but it wouldn’t matter because he was still driven home on a Christian Vázquez single. Hernández followed that up with a base hit of his own to bring in Franchy Cordero, and the Red Sox were sitting with a 5-1 lead.
That was still the score as we headed into the seventh with Pivetta coming back in having only 66 pitches under his belt. The streak of 18 in a row retired came to end quickly though, with Michael Brantley ripping a ground rule double into the right field corner to lead off the inning. There was no trouble with the runner on base, with Pivetta retiring the next three including a big strikeout to end the inning and strand Brantley in scoring position.
The righty came out for one more inning for the Red Sox, and it was more of the same. Pivetta retired three in a row to get through eight strong innings, and he was given the chance to finish this one out, coming back for the ninth. He again retired three in a row, finishing off a two-hit complete game against one of the best lineups in baseball. It was the first complete game by a Red Sox pitcher since June 5, 2019 when Chris Sale did it, and it finished off a 5-1 victory for the good guys.
The Red Sox now look to keep these good times rolling against the AL West as they welcome the Mariners into town for a four-game weekend set. That one will kick off with Rich Hill taking on George Kirby starting at 7:10 PM ET.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 20:05:27 GMT -5
Pete Abraham
@peteabe
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12m
What a thing. Nick Pivetta goes the distance. Crowd loved it.
9 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 HR. 112/78.
#RedSox 5, Astros 1. Sox win the series.
Last Red Sox CG: Chris Sale June 5, 2019 at Kansas City. 9 3 0 0 0 12.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 20:06:48 GMT -5
Alex Speier
@alexspeier
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14m
Pivetta's complete game is the first at Fenway by a Red Sox since Porcello's one-hitter against the Yankees on 8/3/2018.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 18, 2022 20:08:28 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats
@redsoxstats
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40m
Pivetta had a 10.03 ERA after 3 starts, he's done a great job at cleaning things up and after 8 starts and 40.2 IP he's got a
4.43 ERA
3.87FIP
3.76 xFIP
Looking for 26 dubs to get over .500
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Post by scrappyunderdog on May 18, 2022 22:01:29 GMT -5
This is why nothing beats BB. He had a 7.87 in 5 starts, and a 0.82 in his last three. I just saw that with Merrifield. He had a .346 OPS in his first 27 games. He's had a 1.080 in his last 8. That's why the calls for Brasier to be cut might be premature. He's had a 3.49 over the past 4 seasons. He had a 2.45 over his first 14 this year. I don't think two bad B2B games means he is finished.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on May 19, 2022 3:04:38 GMT -5
'He had that look': Pivetta fires 2-hitter to quiet Astros
Righty retires 18 in a row after leadoff HR for Boston's first complete game since '19
12:14 AM ADT
Ian Browne
Ian Browne
@ianmbrowne
BOSTON -- In case you were wondering, there was no discussion between the manager and the pitcher on whether Nick Pivetta would get a chance to finish what he started and throw the first complete game for the Red Sox in three years.
Any thoughts of a conversation ended when Alex Cora looked into Pivetta’s eyes as he came back to the dugout after a dominant eighth inning.
“The way he was looking at me, I was like, ‘Let me stay away, he might kill me.’” quipped Cora. “He had that look. He had it.”
Pivetta fired a two-hitter to down the dangerous Astros, 5-1, on Wednesday night at Fenway Park, which would have been a bold scenario to predict when you consider the following:
• The Astros belted six homers on Tuesday at Fenway, including five off Red Sox ace Nathan Eovaldi.
• Pivetta began his Wednesday start by giving up a leadoff homer to Jose Altuve to cap a 10-pitch at-bat.
• Who pitches complete games anymore? Pivetta’s was just the fourth in MLB this season.
“That’s why we love the game, right? Unreal,” said Cora.
When Pivetta trotted to the mound for the top of the ninth, the crowd of 31,717 roared with approval. Though Pivetta is probably the most hyper-focused pitcher on the Red Sox, he couldn’t help but hear and feel the love.
“I actually did. I try not to pay attention too much, but I allowed myself that time to get out there, to kind of just take it in and just enjoy the moment,” Pivetta said after firing his second complete game in 111 career starts.
Backed by Pivetta’s gem, which included 112 pitches, no walks and eight strikeouts, the Red Sox won a series at Fenway for the first time this season -- and they did so against the team that upended them in the American League Championship Series last season.
If the 15-22 Red Sox are going to get back on their feet, it has to start somewhere. Perhaps their second straight series win after not winning one since April 11-13 in Detroit will be that starting point.
“This series, it was really important for all of us,” Pivetta said. "We all know what happened last year. To go out and win a series, it’s really important. They’re a good baseball club, and they were [hot].”
And on Tuesday night, Houston’s bats boiled.
Pivetta reversed the narrative in dramatic fashion, retiring 18 in a row and 27 of the last 28 batters after that opening salvo by Altuve.
“It was a lot of fun. I don’t really know what to say, to be honest with you,” said Pivetta.
It was the first complete game for the Red Sox since Chris Sale on June 5, 2019, at Kansas City and the first at Fenway for a Boston pitcher since Rick Porcello on Aug. 3, 2018, against the Yankees.
Pivetta’s previous complete game was on June 8, 2019, when he was with the Phillies.
“He always jokes with me that I’m going to let him throw a complete game, and today he kind of willed himself to do that,” said Cora. “You see the swings, they were late. They weren’t able to recognize the slider. We had our guys ready because it happens fast with that team. We’ve seen it before, but he was amazing.”
It has been quite a turnaround for Pivetta, who was 0-4 with a 7.84 ERA in his first five starts and 2-0 with a 0.82 ERA in his subsequent three.
“It’s my mechanics, it’s my timing, just that, to be honest with you,” said Pivetta. “I had a lot of people help me out, a lot of the coaching staff really dug deep, a lot of the KinaTrax [technology], and they helped me out. I had AC texting me at 1 o’clock in the morning, so it’s been a really good group effort. Getting into a rhythm allows me to keep my legs underneath myself and just let the ball ride through the zone.”
Christian Vázquez had the best seat in the house, squatting 60 feet and 6 inches from Pivetta’s filthy arsenal of fastballs, curves, sliders and changeups.
“He was amazing,” Vázquez said. “He was attacking. The fastball was electric. The curveball was sharp.”
Who could have seen it coming when Altuve hit that rocket over the Monster?
“I thought it was going to be a crazy night again, but we turned the page and executed the plan,” said Vázquez.
And what exactly was Pivetta trying to tell Cora with his eyes after that eighth inning?
“I didn’t want to come out,” Pivetta said. “After [going seven last game], I felt like I could go the extra two innings, pick up the bullpen a little bit. I felt good, I felt confident. I was in the zone. They weren’t taking great hacks against me. I just kind of ran with that.”
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