Looking Ahead: Red Sox v. Tigers
The Red Sox are back at Fenway Park for a quick trio of games against the last-place Detroit Tigers and it couldn’t come at a better time. Boston just went 5-5 in their most recent homestand and then lost 3 of 4 to the Rangers down in Texas. While they still sit atop the AL East their mojo has seemingly disappeared and they need to find it ASAP. They’ve gotten lucky with the rest of the division stumbling out of the gates but that won’t last for long.
Boston trots out Nick Pivetta tonight and the righty will look to build upon his strong April. The right-hander is 3-0 in 2021 which brings him to 5-0 in seven starts as a member of the Red Sox. It hasn’t always been pretty for Nicky P but his 25/7 K/BB ratio is just one chapter in the story. He owns a 2.81 ERA in 25.2 innings pitched with a 1.247 WHIP. He’s also given up just 15 hits in five starts this year which has been phenomenal.
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The Red Sox offense will be dueling Michael Fulmer who has been pretty reliable for Detroit with a 1-1 record and 3.86 ERA. While it isn’t the rotation the Tigers have trotted out in the past we’ve seen how this Boston team reacts to squads that are below them. If Boston wants to take this series from Detroit they’ll need to have their starters continue to be solid while the bottom of their order has to wake up. Too much is being done by the top five hitters in the order that the bottom four are getting bailed out, that has to stop.
The series breaks down like this:
- Nick Pivetta (3-0, 2.81) v. Michael Fulmer (1-1, 3.86)
- Martín Pérez (0-2, 4.70) v. Casey Mize (1-3, 5.06)
- Nathan Eovaldi (4-2, 3.63) v. Spencer Turnbull (1-2, 4.50)
This will be a very important series for the Red Sox and their drive to make it back to the postseason. Some will say it’s only May and these games aren’t as important, and those people would be wrong. You may not be able to win the division in May but you can sure as hell lose it. If they can put a stop to the bleeding and get back into the win column that’ll be a great boost to the morale with some big teams coming up on the schedule. The weapons are there and the opponents are just right for a perfect storm that could lead to Boston dominating this week.