Red Sox pitching could tame Astros
Many had predicted that Boston’s undoing would be their pitching. And they had good reason to think so. The Red Sox entered the postseason with only one reliable starter in Nathan Eovaldi.
However throughout the Wild Card round and ALDS, the Red Sox had found a way to piece it all together in order to win. Yes, it is true that their red hot offense was a huge reason for their postseason success. However, it cannot be overstated how integral Cora’s handling of the pitching staff had been as well.
For the second postseason in a row, Cora used unorthodox methods to get the most out of his pitchers. However, in the last three games of the postseason, Red Sox pitches gave up a combined 23 runs.
What was even more devastating was that most of them came off their more reliable pitchers. It was Garrett Whitlock who gave up the game-tying home run in the 8th inning of Game 4 and it was Eovaldi who surrendered the first four runs in the top of the 9th. It was Sale, Brasier, and Robles who gave up 7 of the 9 runs scored by the Astros in Game 5. And it was Adam Ottavino who surrendered the back breaking three run home run in the bottom of the 8th inning of Game 6.