In complete control
Pivetta goes the distance in two-hitter
When Nick Pivetta returned to the dugout after the eighth inning, there was no lobbying from the pitcher. And Alex Cora didn’t dare to go talk to him.
“The way he was looking at me, I was like, let me stay away. He might kill me,” the Red Sox manager said. “He had that look.”
On Wednesday night at Fenway Park, Pivetta wasn’t going to be denied what’s become a rare accomplishment in modern baseball. Inning by inning, the Red Sox right-hander looked more and more dominant as he went, but this was unexpected – especially after what had unfolded the night prior: A complete-game performance to lead the Red Sox to a 5-1 victory over the Astros, their second consecutive series win and first at home.
“That’s why we love the game, right?” Cora said. “Unreal.”
It was the Red Sox’ first complete game since Chris Sale did it against the Royals on June 5, 2019, and first one at Fenway since Rick Porcello’s against the Yankees on August 3, 2018. And it was all the more welcomed given the circumstances.
The bullpen was gassed, two nights after their rainprolonged victory, and one night after they were needed earlier than expected when Nathan Eovaldi gave up a whopping five home runs in the second inning.
Pivetta cruised through that same, dangerous Astros lineup, and made it look easy.
“I felt good, I felt confident. I was in the zone,” Pivetta said. “They weren’t taking great hacks against me. I just kind of ran with that.”
It actually started by looking like it might be a repeat of Tuesday, when Pivetta lost a 10-pitch atbat with Jose Altuve, who crushed a solo homer to the Monster seats to give Houston a 1-0 lead. Even Cora was having flashbacks.
“It looked like, oh here we go again,” Cora said.
But Pivetta quickly flushed that home run out, and did so with exceptional efficiency, almost spotless for the rest of the night. His fastball was playing and he was in complete control of his curveball. After Altuve’s home run, Pivetta retired the next 18 Astros batters he faced in a row, including strikeouts of Altuve in his second and third at-bats, before Michael Brantley hit a ground-rule double to open the seventh
At first, it didn’t seem like Pivetta’s outing would last much longer after that. Matt Strahm began warming after Brantley’s double. But he sat down the next three batters, and screamed and pounded his chest as he walked off the mound after striking out Yuli Gurriel.
It turned out there would be no need for Strahm – or anyone in the Red Sox bullpen. Pivetta became the first Red Sox starter of the season to record an out in the eighth, and retired the Astros 1-2-3 in that inning, too. He had thrown 102 pitches when he returned to the dugout.
Cora said the Red Sox obviously had plans in case things went south – a 5-1 lead against that Astros lineup wasn’t insurmountable – but there was no need.
“We gave him a chance and he did his thing,” Cora said.
Was there another inning left in him?
“I didn’t want to come out,” Pivetta said.
When he appeared out of the dugout, jogged up the steps and out to the mound for the ninth, there were cheers from the crowd, which recognized the rare moment they were about to see. Usually laser-focused, Pivetta admitted that he heard it.
“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.
Then he finished the job, retiring Mauricio Dubon, Altuve and inducing Brantley into a groundout to second to complete his masterpiece.
“It was a lot of fun,” Pivetta said. “I don’t really know what to say, to be honest with you. It’s just a lot for me. I just went out and competed.
“The guys behind me, they played really good defense. They got on the bats really early, driving in runs, really confident. Just kind of fed off that. Me and (Christian Vazquez) were on a really good page, communicating really well, same with Bushy (pitching coach Dave Bush). It was nice.”
The bats did enough for Pivetta. Rafael Devers tripled before scoring on J.D. Martinez’s sac fly, and
Xander Bogaerts hit a solo homer as the Red Sox responded to take a 2-1 lead in the first. It was ultimately all Pivetta needed. Devers added an RBI double in the third before Kiké Hernández and Christian Vazquez hit RBI singles in the fifth.
For Pivetta, it was the continuation of a dominant run. After a lousy start to the season, he’s come on strong in May with a 2.03 ERA over his last five starts to bring his overall ERA down to 4.22. He’s only issued one walk over his last four starts, a credit to improved mechanics.
Pivetta was thrilled with his performance, but didn’t want to get too high.
“I’m happy with this moment but there’s a lot of baseball left,” Pivetta said. “Still have a ton of starts left, a ton of season left. I’m just focusing on my next start, I think against Chicago. That’s all you have to do. Just focus on that and kind of move forward and enjoy this moment but continue to work.”
Vazquez hopes the performance is contagious.
“It was fun to watch,” the catcher said. “We need that more. I hope Rich Hill goes CG tomorrow.”