Top-5 Red Sox pitching performances from the 2021 season

These Boston Red Sox pitchers were electric on the mound in 2021

The offense gets the bulk of the credit for lifting the Boston Red Sox out of the basement of their division and back into the postseason but the pitching staff was a pleasant surprise in 2021.

It may not seem to be the case based on a middle-of-the-pack 4.27 ERA but Red Sox pitchers ranked fourth in the American League with a 3.95 FIP and third with 19.2 WAR, per FanGraphs.

Every pitching staff is going to have some underachievers dragging down the collective production and the Red Sox certainly had their fair share of duds. They also had a fair amount of success on the mound and we witnessed several displays of dominance during the 2021 season.

When I ranked the top performances in a game by Red Sox hitters, I made a conscious effort to avoid repeating players. You could fill a slideshow with the heroics of Rafael Devers but I was aiming to capture the best game of the season for five different players.

I’m pivoting away from that concept for the pitching staff. Let’s face it, the Red Sox didn’t have five solid options in their rotation for most of the season. Garrett Richards and Martin Perez were both jettisoned to the bullpen in the second half. Chris Sale provided reinforcement when he returned from Tommy John surgery in August but his workload was kept in check, limiting him to fewer than six innings in all but one of his appearances.

While there was more than enough talent in the lineup to easily single out five different hitters for their best game, some of the most brilliant pitching performances of the season would have gone overlooked if I prevented myself from repeating a player. That’s why we are altering the criteria a bit for this list.

Not to worry though, this isn’t merely a compilation of games from the best Red Sox pitcher. This staff delivered excellent performances from several sources.

Red Sox pull Tanner Houck during quest for perfection

It takes guts for a manager to give his starting pitcher the hook in the midst of a perfect game but that’s exactly what Alex Cora did following five flawless innings from Tanner Houck against the Washington Nationals.

Houck didn’t allow a runner to reach base against him during his final regular season appearance. The only ball that left the infield was a harmless fly to right field in the third inning. Houck struck out eight, including three of the first four batters he faced.

The decision to remove Houck during a perfect game was naturally controversial but it was also reasonable under the circumstances. The rookie lasted longer than five innings only once all season, a 5 1/3 inning effort that he lost in Cleveland back in August. The Red Sox were extremely cautious when it came to allowing Houck to face an opposing lineup for a third time in a game.

Houck spent most of September working out of the bullpen. While his pitch count seemed modest at the time he was pulled against the Nationals, his 56 pitches were the most he had thrown in over two weeks.

One of the unwritten rules of baseball is that you don’t talk about a no-hitter or perfect game when a pitcher is in the middle of tossing one. You certainly don’t take him out of a game he’s dominating to that extent. This was an exception. Houck’s season high pitch count was 90, which he hadn’t reached since August. There was essentially zero chance that he was going to last a full nine innings to have a chance at a perfect game.

This start came in the second-to-last game of the regular season in a must-win game to keep Boston’s playoff hopes alive. The Red Sox were clinging to a one-run lead with Houck due up to lead off the sixth inning in the National League park. Cora called for a pinch-hitter hoping to spark some offense that would put this game out of reach. It didn’t work out, as Christian Arroyo struck out in place of Houck and the Red Sox wasted a golden opportunity with a pair of runners on base when Rafael Devers flew out to end the scoreless inning.

The offense finally came alive with a four-run ninth inning and the bullpen managed to hang on for the win. Houck didn’t get credit for the victory since Washington had tied the game in the eighth inning with a sacrifice fly from Juan Soto. The deep fly to center nearly left the park so Austin Davis was lucky that Soto didn’t clear the bases with a backbreaking grand slam. Instead, Davis managed to escape the jam just in time for his offense to wake up, allowing him to vulture the win.

Nathan Eovaldi’s gem leads Red Sox over Rays

Reeling from three consecutive losses and on the verge of being swept by the division-leading Rays, the Red Sox turned to their ace to stop the bleeding in a pivotal September series as they fought to stay alive in the Wild Card race.

The Cy Young candidate padded his resume with a dominant performance, blanking the second-highest scoring offense in the majors over seven scoreless innings. Eovaldi uncharacteristically walked a pair of batters but allowed only three hits and struck out eight.

With his pitch count approaching triple-digits, Eovaldi was removed after seven innings in a tie game. Garrett Richards nearly spoiled Eovaldi’s gem by giving up a run in the eighth but the Red Sox rallied behind a two-run homer from Hunter Renfroe in the bottom of the inning.

Boston would win the pitching duel 2-1. While Eovaldi technically didn’t factor into the decision, he was clearly a significant factor in this much-needed victory.

This was one of seven appearances this season in which Eovaldi lasted at least seven innings. This game against the Rays was the third time he had lasted that long without allowing a run. What sets this outing apart is the qualify of the opponent and the narrow margin on the scoreboard. Boston beat up on losing teams as Eovaldi cruised to victory in the previous seven-scoreless inning outings.

Eovaldi had two other dominant seven-inning performances against the Rays this year, including one in August when he matched his season-high with 10 strikeouts. He allowed one earned run in each of those starts and notched the win in both games. Boston outscored Tampa Bay by a total of 19 runs between those previous outings. Despite not getting credit for the victory, holding the Rays scoreless in a tightly contested game made the September start more meaningful.

Red Sox lose despite Nick Pivetta flirting with a no-hitter

We’ve already discussed that Alex Cora is the rare manager with the stomach to pull a starter on their way to a potentially historic outing. We shouldn’t have been all that surprised by the early hook he gave Houck considering the precedent he set with Nick Pivetta during a game in Tampa Bay back in June.

Pivetta had a no-hitter going against the Rays when Cora removed him with two outs in the seventh inning. The controversial decision risked drawing the ire of the fanbase but there was a method to his madness.

Austin Meadows had reached on an error and a groundout moved him into scoring position with two outs in the seventh inning of a scoreless game. Boston’s offense had also been silent and they couldn’t afford to fall behind in a game where runs were at a premium.

Cora summoned Josh Taylor to replace Pivetta. With first base open, Manuel Margot was intentionally walked to allow the lefty Taylor to face the left-handed Joey Wendle, who hit a meager .202 against southpaws this year. The plan worked when Taylor retired Wendle on a lazy fly out to left.

The Red Sox would end up losing the game when Matt Barnes unleashed a wild pitch that allowed Margot to score in the bottom of the ninth. Seriously, a walk-off wild pitch in an otherwise scoreless game!

The result can’t be blamed on the decision to remove Pivetta, who had reached 100 pitches through 6 2/3 innings. The right-hander tossed 100+ pitches nine times this year but he was very likely to reach his season-high of 111 at some point in the eighth inning if he had remained in the game. We shouldn’t assume that he would have still been in for the ninth even if the no-hitter was still intact.

Pivetta issued two walks, hit a batter and had another reach on an error. Despite not allowing a hit, the Rays put a runner on base against him in four consecutive innings. That led to the rising pitch count and the control issues were enough of a reason to be nervous about leaving him on the mound.

The near no-hitter was one of three starts this season in which Pivetta went 6+ innings without allowing an earned run. He struck out eight, a total he topped only three times this year. Settling for no-decision in a game the Red Sox ultimately lost is the main reason that prevents this outing from climbing to the top of the list.

Nick Pivetta blanks A’s as Red Sox escape with a narrow win

While the Nation was celebrating our Independence on July 4, Red Sox Nation was celebrating a gem by Pivetta.

After splitting the first two games of the series in Oakland, the Red Sox turned to Pivetta in the rubber match. The right-hander put the team on his back to deliver the best start of his career in a thrilling 1-0 victory over the A’s.

Pivetta shut out Oakland’s lineup over seven innings, his longest outing of the season. He allowed only two hits and a pair of walks while striking out a season-high 10 batters.

Pivetta struck out the side in the first inning but found early trouble with a pair of baserunners mixed in. After the first two batters went down swinging, Pivetta walked Matt Olson and gave up a base hit to Matt Chapman. Olson moved to third while Chapman advanced to second on the throw, putting two in scoring position. Pivetta shut down the threat by striking out Jed Lowrie.

He wouldn’t allow another baserunner until the sixth inning, a ground ball through the right side of the infield. A seventh-inning walk to Ramon Laureano, who immediately stole second base, was the only other traffic Pivetta allowed on the bases.

Pivetta can be widely inconsistent. He allowed 4+ runs in 11 of his starts, including two with 6+ runs allowed. The result was a mediocre 4.53 ERA this season.

He has his occasional rough patches but at his best, Pivetta can be as dominant as any pitcher on the Red Sox staff. These last two slides are perfect examples of how great he can be but they aren’t the only evidence we can find from this season. Pivetta had four starts in which he logged 5+ innings without allowing a run. That includes a game in April when he won a duel with Mets ace Jacob deGrom. Pivetta only lasted five innings in that game but given the quality of the opposing pitcher, the effort warrants at least an honorable mention.

The 28-year-old has been in the league for five years but this was only the second time that he has been given the chance to stick in the rotation for a full season. There’s still room for him to grow and find the consistency he needs to take his game to the next level. We’ve seen his upside and can expect him to deliver a few more gems for the Red Sox in 2022.