Despite falling to the Rays 3-1 on Wednesday night and having lost seven of their last 10 games, Alex Cora expressed confidence in his team postgame.
“We’re ready to go home,” the manager said. “There was a lot of good stuff that happened here tonight. Showing up and grinding the way we did with where we were bullpen-wise. I know it sucks, and there are no moral victories. But we feel good.”
One thing the Red Sox can certainly feel good about is the fact that they don’t have to play the Rays again this season. With Wednesday night’s loss, the Red Sox finished the season series with Tampa with a 2-9 record and dropped to 27-51 against the Rays since 2019.
Despite sitting five games back of a Wild Card spot with just 22 games remaining in the season, Cora was given a reason to feel good Wednesday night, and it came from Nick Pivetta.
When evaluating the 2023 Red Sox it’s hard to find consistency, and that’s something Pivetta has given the Red Sox in the strangest of roles, and we were reminded of that Wednesday night.
On a night the Red Sox offense mustered just five hits while striking out 17 times, Pivetta gave the Sox a chance to win. After using six relievers in Tuesday night’s extra-inning loss, Boston needed some length from Pivetta, and he answered the call.
Pitching on just three days of rest after recording a three-inning save (Tossing 37 pitches) on Saturday in Kansas City, Pivetta made his first start since August 15th and tossed 85 pitches over 4.2 innings, allowing just three earned runs.
“Nick was outstanding,” Cora said postgame. “Every time he takes the baseball he’s been outstanding. He prepares, he wants to compete, and he’s been great.”
When Cora initially decided to move Pivetta out of the starting rotation and into this hybrid role out of the bullpen, it was a disappointing demotion for the 30-year-old, who had spent almost the entirety of his major league career as a starter.
Despite the frustration, Pivetta embraced his role and has thrived in it. Cora admitted Pivetta’s role may be a bit unorthodox but tipped his cap to Pivetta for his dependability.
“We usually don’t do this in the regular season,” Cora said. “But he’s been available every single day since he went to the bullpen.”
Pivetta has now thrown 117 innings this season, second behind just Brayan Bello (134). Pivetta also leads the team in strikeouts with 150.
It’s no secret the Red Sox bullpen has been overworked this season, and if not for Pivetta, things could look a lot worse.
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