Red Sox split first home series of 2022 with the Twins

Game One Thoughts: Twins 8, Red Sox 4

• Nick Pivetta had absolutely nothing on this day. He allowed five hits, two walks, and four runs in just two mediocre innings. He had no feel for his curveball whatsoever, and his fastball velocity was down two miles per hour from 2021. Alex Cora said after the game that a mechanical issue prevented him from getting the necessary extension, so we’ll see if Pivetta turns things around in his next outing.
• With Josh Taylor returning and rosters being cut down from 28 players to 26, the Red Sox are going to need to option three pitchers at the beginning of May. Philips Valdez seems like an obvious choice to be one of those three, but it’s hard to see the team jettisoning him off the roster if he keeps pitching like this. Valdez relieved Pivetta with two more scoreless innings on Friday. In three spotless appearances on the young season, Valdez has struck out seven batters and walked just one. He attacks the strike zone like few others in the Red Sox bullpen and is beginning to carve out an important role for himself
• After two scoreless outings against the Tigers, Matt Barnes looked like a shell of his former All-Star self on this day. Two walks, a hit-by-pitch, and a seeing-eye single combined to push two runs across for the Twins, effectively ending Boston’s comeback hopes. On the bright side, Barnes’ velocity was up a tick from his first two appearances in Detroit, but still not to the levels of his 2021 peak. All in all, there are many reasons to be concerned about the former Red Sox closer.
• In brighter news, Alex Verdugo continued his hot start with a second-inning solo shot off Twins starter Joe Ryan. The key to Verdugo’s early success has been elevating the ball more: He’s nearly doubled his average launch angle from 2021 and has raised his fly ball percentage from 21% to 45.5%. That, along with a 3.5 mph increase in exit velocity, has allowed Verdugo to hit for more power.
• One thing I worried about heading into the season was how the Red Sox would do against hard-throwing righties. This came to fruition on Friday, as Joe Ryan, Joan Duran, and Emilio Pagan overwhelmed the Red Sox’s right-handed power hitters. Combined, Xander Bogaerts, J.D Martinez, Trevor Story, and Bobby Dalbec went 2-for-16 with 10 strikeouts.
• Finally, in our daily installment of “Insane Things that Rafael Devers Does”, the Red Sox third baseman took a 98-mile-per-hour pitch in off the plate and sent it over the right-field wall. He never ceases to amaze.