Red Sox flamethrower Nathan Eovaldi excelling in new role during World Series
By Quinn Allen
Eovaldi was outstanding out of the pen in game one and two at Fenway, tossing two scoreless frames. The hard-throwing righty is slowly shaping up to be Boston’s secret weapon in this World Series.
Whether it’s out of the pen or in the starting rotation, Nathan Eovaldi has been nothing short of spectacular this postseason. The 28-year old had only made eight appearances in relief in his seven-year big league career prior to this year’s postseason. That hasn’t seemed to phase Eovaldi though, who took the ball in back-to-back nights for Alex Cora and soared through the Dodgers lineup.
In Game 1, Eovaldi sat down the Dodgers in order for a clean eighth inning. On a much colder night in Game 2, he regularly touched triple digits with his heater as he sat down Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner, and Joc Pederson in order, with Bellinger being gassed up by a 99 mph fastball for a strikeout.
Eovaldi was set to start Game 3 on Friday but will be pushed back to Game 4 on Saturday because of his relief appearances. But if the opportunity presents itself to use Eovaldi out of the pen as the bridge to get closer Craig Kimbrel in the game, don’t be surprised if Alex Cora uses him in relief once again in Game 3.
Dominance in the postseason
Eovaldi has compiled a stellar 1.65 ERA in the postseason. He’s given up just two free passes in 16.1 innings while also striking out 11 hitters. He was one of the biggest reasons the Red Sox defeated the Yankees in the ALDS when Cora gave him the ball in Game 3. He dominated his former team, tossing seven innings giving up just one run while striking out five.
Eovaldi put his best foot forward once again in Game 3 of the ALCS against the Astros when he threw six innings, surrendering just two runs in an 8-2 win for Boston.
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The first glimpse we saw of Eovaldi out of the pen was in the series-clinching Game 5 against Houston. Eovaldi looked dominant other than the one hit he gave up to George Springer. He set the stage for Kimbrel in the ninth, who closed it out as Boston clinched a World Series berth.
This new role that Cora has been using Eovaldi in may be the answer for Boston. He has such electric stuff already but when he’s coming out of the bullpen for just an inning or two, he has even more adrenaline running through his veins. Eovaldi averaged a 97 mph fastball velocity during the season, but he is regularly sitting at 98-100 in relief. Its one thing to throw that hard, but to actually be able to spot up your fastball and hit the corners with that type of velocity is simply amazing. He has unbelievable command for such a hard thrower. Add in a hard slider with tremendous bite, a mid 90’s cutter, and a splitter that dives right out of the zone, and Eovaldi is really one of Boston’s biggest weapons on the mound.
Making his former team pay
Eovaldi was an 11th round pick by the Dodgers in the 2008 draft and eventually made his big league debut with Los Angeles in 2011. They traded him to the Marlins in 2012 for Hanley Ramirez and you can be sure they are regretting that decision now.
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Two Tommy John surgeries later and Eovaldi looks to be one of the most dominating arms in this World Series through the first two games. He is an impending free agent at the end of the season but given his clutch outings for Boston in the most important situations, they should certainly be rewarding him with a big payday.
Whether it’s out of the pen or starting, Nathan Eovaldi will be ready to dominate once again with his 100 mph fastball when called upon.