The pitch that has made Michael Wacha a dominant starter
Make that three complete games.
The Red Sox not only won their fifth game in a row - climbing to one game over .500 with a 1-0 win over the Angels Monday night - but did so in memorable fashion. That was thanks to Michael Wacha's 105-pitch, nine-inning shutuout.
First there was Nathan Eovaldi's complete game. Then came one from Nick Pivetta. And now ... Wacha, who has become one of the best free agent acquisitions in baseball.
Using a fastball that climbed as high as 96.6 mph and a changeup that has become one of the most impactful pitches in all of baseball - (opponents are hitting .111 against the change with just one extra-base hit) - Wacha lowered his ERA to 1.99.
There have now been 10 complete games in baseball this season, with the Red Sox owning three of them.
"I know we get criticized sometimes with our pitching program early on in the season, taking care of pitchers and taking them out early," Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters. "Like We tell them, the reason we do that is to ... be ready when it really matters."
Wacha, who is living life on a one-year, $7 million contract, has been ready for seemingly the entire season. In his nine starts, he has allowed more than two runs just once while limiting opponents to a .177 batting average.
And this one - his first complete game since throwing another three-hit shutout on July 18, 2017 - was punctuated by inducing a game-ending ground out to second base off the bat of the always dangerous Shohei Ohtani.