Nathan Eovaldi ties career-best in K’s in Red Sox win
Yesterday was one hell of a Patriots’ Day for the Red Sox. The morning game built around the Boston Marathon doesn’t always bring victories to the standings but this year’s affair was more than memorable. Not only did the team wear jerseys emblazoned with the “Boston Strong” patch, but they made sure to remind the league that they’re pretty damn good at baseball.
The squad made sure to demoralize the White Sox on both sides of the ball as a power surge for six runs in the bottom of the first inning instantly put the game in their favor, but then Nathan Eovaldi woke up. Nasty Nate lived up to his nickname yesterday morning and didn’t let the White Sox tap into their powerhouse offense whatsoever. If you were to just look at his line you may not be as impressed, 6.1/9H/4R/4ER/10K/0BB, but you need the context of those runs.
Chicago wouldn’t have been able to get some of those runs across had it not been for some defensive miscues by the Red Sox, something we’ve become accustomed to this year. A wildly misplayed ball by Franchy Cordero allowed the Southsiders to add to their run total in a head-scratching moment. There were also numerous occasions where Boston showed little urgency in getting runners out at first, filling up the basepaths.
Then there was the shift, and you all know I hate the shift when it’s used so dramatically as Boston does. A simple hit up the third baseline that would’ve been an easy out became another runner aboard for Chicago and added to Nate’s numbers.
So it wasn’t all on Eovaldi’s shoulders as he pitched an absolute gem. He had all of his pitches working and was hitting his spots with ease. Seriously, there were times where the ball was already in Christian Vazquez’s glove before the White Sox even knew what was coming.
The reason why we’re here today and the real story from the game comes down to Eovaldi’s strikeouts. His career-high has been a 10-spot and he once again hit that mark yesterday. In fact, he had a chance to surpass and get number 11 but his final batter was just too dang tricky and he couldn’t get the final strike that he needed.
Still, hitting a career-high in a game where you had all of your weapons firing on all cylinders is a damn good time. Once again, Nate has proven that he can be the guy that the Red Sox need until they’re healthy and back to full-strength with Chris Sale eventually returning.
Red Sox pitchers with multiple games of 10+ strikeouts, 0 walks, and 0 HR allowed:
— J.P. Long (@SoxNotes) April 20, 2021
Pedro Martinez – 12
Chris Sale – 8
Rogers Clemens – 7
Cy Young – 6
Nathan Eovaldi – 2
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Red Sox Notes on Twitter also gave a stat that should be pretty eye-opening, especially to those who don’t believe in Eovaldi. There have only been five pitchers in Red Sox history to record multiple 10+ K games without recording a walk, and Nasty Nate joined that list yesterday. He now sits among the best of the best in Boston’s pitching history having achieved the mark. Not something you’d expect to see from a guy who’s been here two and a half years, but then again, Sale is on that list too.
We all know that when Eovaldi was brought here he was meant to be a third to fourth man in the starting rotation. Thanks to injuries and front office moves he was jettisoned to the top dog in the rotation and he has carried the weight really well. There have been hiccups but that’s going to happen from time to time, ask Lucas Giolito. Starters aren’t always automatic but it’s not always about that. I look for how they recover from adversity and if they can adjust the game plan when things get a bit hairy, which Nate is more than capable of doing.
His efforts yesterday were just another testament to how good he can be when he’s on, and that’s been more often than not lately. He’s now 3-1 in 2021 through 23.2 innings with a 3.04 ERA. Eovaldi also boasts a 24/4 K/BB ratio with a 69% strike rate in his four starts this year. Even when Sale does return I expect the lefty to be either starting in the bullpen to shake the rust off or as a bottom of the rotation guy. For now, Eovaldi’s job is more than safe and if he keeps posting numbers like he did yesterday then I can’t imagine it coming in question anytime soon.