Red Sox Strut: Third baseman Rafael Devers, LHP Chris Sale
By Sean Penney
Pitching Candidates
September call-up Austin Maddox has been about as lights out as it gets in his brief time with the Red Sox this year. The right-hander tossed 4 2/3 shutout innings last week, allowing only two hits and recording four strikeouts. Maddox has now pitched 9 1/3 innings in the majors this season without allowing a run.
While we’re at it, let’s give a shout out to the bullpen in general. I previously mentioned the tremendous effort Red Sox relievers delivered in the 19-inning win over Toronto last week. Maddox, Blaine Boyer, Addison Reed, Fernando Abad, Heath Hembree, Craig Kimbrel and Carson Smith were among the relievers to appear in that game. Each of them pitched at least two innings last week without allowing a run.
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Doug Fister earned his fifth win of the season by holding the Blue Jays to one run over seven innings. He struck out a season-high nine batters and saw his ERA dip below 4.00 for the first time this season. Fister has been on quite a run since rejoining the rotation at the end of July and deserves to be the team’s No. 3 starter heading into the postseason.
Drew Pomeranz is tied for third in the league in wins after picking up his 15th of the season against the Rays on Friday. He held Tampa Bay to two runs over six innings and struck out seven. Pomeranz has lasted seven innings in a start only once this season, which came back in May. He’s not going deep into games, but being cautious of his pitch counts has prevented him from wearing down like he did in the second half of last season. That’s a fair trade off, especially when the Red Sox have a strong bullpen backing him up.
Eduardo Rodriguez had to settle for a no-decision as the starter of that 19-inning game against the Blue Jays. He wouldn’t get credit for that win, but don’t let that overlook E-Rod’s performance. He held the Jays to two runs over six innings and struck out eight. It was an encouraging sign in the wake of being roughed up for five runs in each of his previous two starts.