Red Sox starter Hector Velazquez lasts only three inefficient innings

The Boston Red Sox turned to Hector Velazquez to make another spot start but his inefficiency led to a short outing against the Baltimore Orioles.

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora opted to give Hector Velazquez another spot start in order to give the rest of his rotation an extra day off. It worked out perfectly that last time he tried it but not so much this time.

Velazquez was held to a strict pitch count in his last spot start since he wasn’t stretched out enough to handle a true starter’s workload. He blanked the Arizona Diamondbacks over three innings before turning it over to a bullpen that completed the shutout. Cora was hoping to get four, maybe five innings out of Velazquez this time. He had to settle for only three, as Velazquez’ inefficiency drove up his pitch count too high to push him any further.

The right-hander wasn’t nearly as sharp as we’ve seen him in previous outings. Velazquez had yet to allow a walk in 9 2/3 innings this season but issued four free passes in his three innings of work against a Baltimore Orioles lineup that ranks 24th in the majors with a 8.2 BB%.

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The uncharacteristic bout of wildness is the main reason why Velazquez didn’t stick around long, as he piled up a season-high 57 pitches in three innings. He was fortunate to limit the damage to only one run, particularly in a shaky second inning when it seemed the O’s had him on the ropes.

A leadoff walk to Rio Ruiz was followed by a wild pitch that put the runner in scoring position. He would come around to cross the plate on a base hit by Renato Nunez to put Baltimore on the board. Nunez was thrown out trying to stretch his single into a double, a mistake that would end up saving Boston from a big inning.

Another walk by Velezquez should have been erased by a double play, only for Rafael Devers to botch the routine ground ball. It was his league-leading 5th error of the season and third straight game recording an error.

Velazquez would walk one more batter to load the bases with one out but battled back to escape the jam. A double play to wipe out a leadoff base hit helped him cruise through a quick third inning but the affects of a difficult second inning had taken their toll. His day ended prematurely, putting the game in the hands of a bullpen that has been taxed far too much this season.

Boston’s bullpen isn’t deep enough to be entrusted with six innings. It worked out the last time Velazquez made a start but it’s certainly not something they want to get in the habit of doing. Being shelled by the Orioles is a reminder of why they can’t keep counting on their bullpen to bail them out. Marcus Walden, Heath Hembree, and Tyler Thornburg combined to cough up seven runs to put the game out of reach. Had their starter been able to give them more than three innings, Boston wouldn’t need to send that trio out for meaningful innings.

The decision to give Velazquez a start looked good on paper. It gave them the chance to give Chris Sale an extra day of rest and save him for a meeting with the New York Yankees. Cora was a genius when the plan paid off in Arizona. After getting lit up by the lowly Orioles, the manager may want to think twice about trying another one of these bullpen games.