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Red Sox Strut: Hanley Ramirez, Craig Kimbrel finish out the month strong

By Matthew Loper

Apr 30, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel (46) pitches during the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 30, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel (46) pitches during the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 30, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (52) pitches during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 30, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (52) pitches during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

Strutting Candidates: A recap of the Red Sox pitching staff last week

It was a rough week for the Red Sox starting staff. It wasn’t really that they had bad outings necessarily, but they needed to be flawless in order to win without much offense or run support. Rick Porcello only gave up two runs on five hits and four walks in 6.2 innings pitched, but ended up being the losing pitcher against the Yanks. He did have nine strikeouts though. It would be nice to see Porcello get his walks down, but he’s looking better as his starts add up. He’s also already given up six homeruns on the year (one last week) so that needs to change as well.

The way Chris Sale lost on Thursday was a shame. He went eight strong innings only giving up two earned runs with another ten strikeouts and was still the losing pitcher after the Sox were shut out. Boston’s offense really needs to give him some support going forward, although if you ask Sale himself, he says he has only himself to blame. MassLive’s Jen McCaffrey recently quoted Sale:

"“The only frustration would be towards myself. I know what I need to do and I just need to be better at it.”"

McCaffrey also notes that Sale has let up just five earned runs in five starts so far in 2017, yet his record is 1-2.

Drew Pomeranz continued to not go very deep into games with only six innings on Friday and again allowing a couple homers, but with only two earned runs and seven K’s, he was able to earn a much needed win for Boston. The bullpen was key to holding on to the lead for the Sox in this one as well.

Steven Wright really struggled in his start on Saturday allowing five runs on seven hits, two of which were home runs, and a walk. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – I don’t care if he’s a knuckleballer, this guy does not look like the same guy from 2016 and could be an issue going forward.

Eduardo Rodriguez was great on Sunday night in the rubber match against the Cubs. In fact, he may have earned the Strut honors if he could have gone a bit deeper in the game. He allowed just one run on five hits and two walks with nine strikeouts. Again, the bullpen was very important to securing the victory.

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