Red Sox trade deadline addition already feeling the Andrew Bailey effect

James Paxton took the hill for the Boston Red Sox in their series opener against the Kansas City Royals.

Paxton's first start with the Red Sox didn't generate a ton of confidence around the veteran. The recently-DFA'd lefty let up three runs on six hits in 4.1 innings — not bad, but not great. Boston's series against the Royals is a must-win for their playoff chances. On day one, Paxton delivered.

Big Maple pitched six innings and let up two runs on five hits. He fanned four batters and walked just one with 90 pitches, 62 of them for strikes. It seems like Andrew Bailey had a hand in Paxton's improvement.

In Los Angeles, Paxton relied heavily on his four-seamer, and threw it just over 55% of the time. In his start against Kansas City, the lefty drastically increased the usage of his knuckle curve to 46% and his sinker to 31%, which is no doubt Bailey's doing.

Boston's pitching coach goes above and beyond to avoid fastballs. In recent years, batters have adjusted to high velocity better than pitches with severe vertical or horizontal movement. Bailey believes his hurlers should throw their best stuff the most, but if they can throw offspeed pitches with skilled command, they should take priority.

Paxton can do just that. His prominent use of the knuckle-curve fooled Kansas City's hitters and helped secure his first quality start in over a month. If Paxton can continue the positive trend he demonstrated against the Royals, he could take significant stress off the front of the rotation and eat more innings than the Sox anticipated.

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