Pitcher who gets to Strut
How many solid outings will it take before fans start to believe in Drew Pomeranz?
The lefty settled for a no-decision in his last start in Kansas City. He left with a lead, having held the Royals to two runs over 6 1/3 innings. Then the bullpen melted down in the eighth. Matt Barnes and Robby Scott combined to walk the first three batters to load the bases, followed by Scott giving up a grand slam to Salvador Perez.
It was a frustrating loss for the Red Sox, although not one we can pin on Pomeranz. He has now allowed two runs or less in seven of his last eight starts. He’s only made it to seven innings in one of those starts, but when Pomeranz keeps his team in the game for five or six innings it’s usually enough for the bullpen to finish the job. This was not one of those times.
Pomeranz was pulled with one out in the seventh after sandwiching a strikeout between a pair of singles. He was only at 93 pitches, yet Farrell couldn’t trust him to clean up his own mess. It was probably the right move and Kelly was able to escape the inning with the lead intact. Still, we can’t help but wonder if the outcome would have been different if Pomeranz was allowed to get out of the jam on his own. Kelly then could have pitched a clean eighth inning setting up for Kimbrel, which is as automatic a pairing as you’ll find at the end of games.
Pomeranz still has a ways to go before he earns the trust of his manager to finish those types of innings. Or Farrell may have too much faith in Barnes. It’s probably a bit of both.
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The failure of the bullpen behind him and the questionable managerial decisions do nothing to detract from the performance of Pomeranz. He’s been the second best pitcher among the healthy starters currently in the Red Sox rotation and it’s time to give him credit. It’s time for Drew Pomeranz to Strut.