Velazquez start ’pens in Sox
‘Opener’ strategy falls flat
That the Red Sox have a winning record while using just three healthy starting pitchers for almost three weeks is a feat that looks even more remarkable considering last night’s loss at Fenway Park.
For the eighth time this season, the Sox chose to go with a bullpen game.
Swingman Hector Velazquez’ first pitch of the night was a 91-mph fastball over the center of the plate. George Springer roped it for a triple. And it never got any better.
Velazquez gave up five runs and recorded just one out to set the tone for the Red Sox in a 7-3 loss to the Houston Astros, securing a series defeat.
The Astros have won 10 in a row.
Though Friday’s 3-1 loss revealed a Red Sox team that looked willing and capable of competing with the Astros, the class of the majors this season, their “opener” strategy didn’t work in the middle game of the series.
The Sox have had just three healthy starters since David Price hit the injured list following his start on May 2. Nathan Eovaldi hasn’t started since mid-April.
But as bad as Velazquez was last night, when he put the Sox in a 5-0 hole they couldn’t get out of, they actually have an even record (4-4) during bullpen games this season.
The ’pen entered the night ranked eighth with a 3.83 ERA and sixth with a 1.19 WHIP, numbers good enough to keep the rotation from being exposed, despite poor health and a rough start to the year. There isn’t a single healthy starter with an ERA under Chris Sale’s 4.24 mark.
Price, who has a 3.75 ERA, is set to return tomorrow. Eovaldi is likely a few weeks away.
Soon this will be a team that doesn’t need to carry 13 pitchers (there are 10 relievers on the roster) and can avoid these bullpen games, which are difficult enough to win, but make it even more difficult to win the following day. The Sox are 3-4 the game after a bullpen day this year.
Colten Brewer relieved Velazquez with one out in the first inning and allowed a two-run double to Tyler White as the Astros jumped to a 5-0 lead.
Brewer went 2⅔ innings and allowed a run of his own before turning it over to Ryan Weber, a side-winding righty with good deception. Weber went three innings and allowed just one run to keep the Sox alive.
They scored three runs off Houston rookie Corbin Martin, who was quite wild as he walked four batters and threw just 38 strikes on 74 pitches. But the Sox went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
Flamethrower Josh James replaced Martin and stabilized the game for the ’Stros, keeping the Sox quiet over three hitless innings. Will Harris and Roberto Osuna finished the job in the eighth and ninth, respectively.
The Sox had Marcus Walden warming during a threatening fifth inning, but sat him down when they couldn’t cut into the lead.
Tyler Thornburg, pitching for the first time since May 10, worked around two hits and two walks for two scoreless innings.
Sale starts opposite Brad Peacock in the series finale today.