Pomeranz struggles again
Despite another stinker from Drew Pomeranz, the Red Sox are keeping him in the starting rotation.
“It’s back to the drawing board,” manager Alex Cora
said yesterday.
Pomeranz recorded just 10 outs while allowing five runs on six hits and three walks. The Sox saved him, coming back to win, 8-6, thanks in large part to three scoreless innings by knuckleballer Steven Wright.
Pomeranz has allowed 12 runs in 111⁄3 innings during his past three starts and has a 6.75 ERA through seven starts overall.
But Cora said he’s not ready to give up on the lefthander, who was 17-6 with a 3.32 ERA last year.
“He’ll start in Houston,” Cora said. “He struggled against lefties, and it wasn’t a great day for him, but we trust this guy. He was in the same spot last year, all of a sudden he turned it around. He’ll go to Houston Thursday and make adjustments the next few days and see if it works out.”
Pomeranz has struggled to throw his fastballs in the 90s. He began the day around 91-92 mph but averaged 89-90, a few ticks below his average last season.
This has been consistent all year.
“It’s clearly something that I need to figure out mechanically,” he said. “Something I need to start doing correctly to get that jump back in velocity. Every time I try to throw a pitch where I want to, it’s not going to where it’s supposed to. So I’ve just got to figure out that step that I’m skipping.”
Pomeranz thought he had some good ideas ahead of this start, but they didn’t work. He spoke to pitching instructor Brian Bannister
after the game and is hoping to try something new.
“It’s the same thing, the drive off my back leg that I’ve been searching for this whole time,” Pomeranz said. “He feels like he found something that we’re going to work on this week, which I agree with. I think he found something good, and we’ve just got to figure out a way to get it done.
“I was just having trouble getting off my back leg today. I think one of the things I’ve been searching for this whole time is I’m missing the drive off my back leg . . . really getting into my back leg. When I get in a jam and bring out 93, 94, 95, and I don’t have that right now. My curveball, everything is just a few miles an hour off. It’s a good indicator that something key is missing.”
Pomeranz, who had a 3.08 ERA mostly as a reliever with the Oakland A’s, isn’t too worried about his spot in the rotation.
“Those decisions are over my head anyway,” he said. “I just focus on coming in here every day and figuring out what that problem is to get back to how I was because right now I don’t feel like the same guy as I was last year.”
Wright stuff
Wright has pitched well while relieving Pomeranz in two of his past three outings.
He earned the win, his first since last April.
“He was outstanding,” Cora said. “Gave us a chance to come back and win the game. We’re trying to find how we’re going to make him fit in. After Drew struggled, Hector Velazquez at least kept them in check, and then (Wright) came in and did an outstanding job.”
The knuckleballer has allowed four runs in 11 innings with eight strikeouts and seven walks this season after undergoing knee surgery late last year.
“It’s getting better and better each game,” Wright said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been out there, but now I’ve been out three or four times . . . . I’m trying to slow it down, get the adrenaline under control.”
Wright said he’s happy to pitch out of the bullpen or in the starting rotation.
Fan favorite
The fans at Fenway Park gave Dustin Pedroia a standing ovation ahead of his first at-bat of the season.
Pedroia hit sixth yesterday, his first time in that position since May 2 of last year. He hit mostly second for last year’s club, but Cora thinks Pedroia is better suited to be a run producer in the bottom of the order.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Pedroia hit a fly ball to right field his first time up but still appreciated the ovation.
“It’s been a long time, so it was just fun to be out there, and I’ll never forget that first at-bat,” he said. “That was pretty cool . . . . To get an opportunity to play baseball here, I never take it for granted, so today was up there with any of the moments I’ve been here. I’m pretty proud to be able to come back from the surgery and help us win.”
Pedroia finished the day 0-for-4 with a walk. He scored a run and made no mistakes in the field.
“I felt good all day,” he said. “I know I didn’t get any hits, but I hit some balls good. That’s a good sign. Right where I need to be.”