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Red Sox Strut: Xander Bogaerts, Chris Sale show consistency is key

By Matthew Loper

May 7, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Boston Red Sox center fielder Andrew Benintendi (16) celebrates with shortstop Xander Bogaerts (2) after his two run home run against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
May 7, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Boston Red Sox center fielder Andrew Benintendi (16) celebrates with shortstop Xander Bogaerts (2) after his two run home run against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 1, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Rick Porcello (22) delivers against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
May 1, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Rick Porcello (22) delivers against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /

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

The Red Sox pitching staff continues to look very solid behind ace Chris Sale and a quality number two in Rick Porcello, but do they have enough arms going forward? Steven Wright will miss the rest of the season after having knee surgery. Boston could really use a boost from a returning David Price, but we will obviously have to wait and see on that one.

Porcello had two quality starts last week despite being the losing pitcher in one of them. He went six strong innings against the Orioles giving up just two runs on five hits and adding seven strikeouts but was handed the L in that outing. Against the Twins, he gave up seven hits but only one run in seven innings and had six strikeouts. He did give up a home run in each start though which is something he needs to improve upon going forward.

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A nice boost for the pitching staff has come from Drew Pomeranz this season. He’s definitely been finding ways to get opposing batters to swing and miss more, but he can’t seem to stay in the game beyond five or six innings. He defeated the Orioles last week after allowing just two runs to score on five hits, but he only managed to get through 5.1 innings.

Kyle Kendrick was given a chance to show his stuff in a spot start, and despite my preseason prognostications, he didn’t look so good in what would be the worst outing of the week for Boston. He gave up six runs on eight hits in only four innings of work so it’s probably back to the drawing board for John Farrell to find a replacement for Wright.

Eduardo Rodriguez was solid once again and has looked much more reliable this season that he did in 2016. He wasn’t able to get the victory over Minnesota but certainly gave the Sox a chance to win.

The bullpen once again looked great when they needed to be. In the losing efforts or when Kendrick’s start really blew wide open, the relief staff wasn’t great. But the main guys that you need to close out games have been awesome for Boston in 2017.

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