Red Sox Strut: Mitch Moreland catches fire, Craig Kimbrel throws fire
By Sean Penney
Pitching candidates
Joe Kelly grabbed our attention with a blazing fastball that was initially believed to be the fastest of the season. The radar gun at Yankee Stadium clocked Kelly’s fastball to Aaron Judge at 103 mph and NESN claimed it was 104. MLB Statcast would later officially record the pitch at 102.2 mph, which tied his previous mark for the fastest pitch thrown in 2017.
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It wasn’t exactly a standout week for the Red Sox starting rotation. Chris Sale is the only starter who can be even remotely pleased with his performance last week and his outing was below his typical standards. Sale allowed three runs on nine hits over seven innings, striking out seven and walking none. Not bad, certainly good enough to win, but for Sale it was a fairly ho-hum outing.
Drew Pomeranz got his week off to a good start with a win in New York. He only lasted five innings but held a dangerous Yankees lineup in check, allowing only one run on six hits. Somehow his pitch count got up to 123 in only five innings. If pitching a complete game in under 100 pitches is called a “Maddux” then can tossing over 100 in five innings or less be called a Pomeranz?
Any chance of Pomeranz getting to Strut was erased Sunday night when he was battered around for five runs in 4 1/3 innings against the Tigers. That dud ended a streak of five consecutive starts where Pomeranz had allowed two earned runs or less.