The Boston Red Sox Starting Pitchers Need to Get It Together

The Boston Red Sox starting pitchers need to figure some things out on the mound, and no we don’t include ace Chris Sale.

The Boston Red Sox have struggled early in games as of late. The starters are simply getting knocked around and it’s wearing down the bullpen. The Red Sox staff needs to find a way to steady the ship in order for the team to end April on a high note.

The Red Sox will get David Price back at some point this season, but he and Chris Sale can’t do it on their own.

Rick Porcello was the latest pitcher to struggle, as he earned a loss on Friday night at home.

Rick Porcello (1-1, 4.38 ERA)

Rick Porcello began the year on a positive note, earning a victory on Opening Day against the Pirates. In his second start of the year, Pretty Ricky took just a slight step backwards.

Last Sunday, the Red Sox defeated the Tigers but Porcello did not earn the win.

Rick Porcello went 6.0 innings, allowing 4 runs, 3 of those were earned. Three earned runs over six innings is solid, but things got worse last night.

Against the Rays at Fenway Park, Porcello was manhandled.

Pretty Ricky went just 4.1 innings on Friday night. He gave up 8 earned runs on 8 hits to Baltimore. Four of those hits were home runs.

Porcello is better than his 1-1 record and 4.38 ERA indicate, so hopefully he can return to being the Cy Young pitcher that he was in 2016.

Chris Sale (0-1, 1.23 ERA)

No, Chris Sale is not struggling like other Boston pitchers. In fact, he’s been nearly perfect.

In his first ever outing for the Red Sox, Sale went 7.0 innings and allowed just 3 hits. He gave up no runs and struck out 7 Pittsburgh batters.

Sale was also spectacular in his second outing of the season, a 2-1 loss to the Tigers. If Justin Verlander hadn’t been the opposing pitcher, Sale likely would have notched another win.

Chris Sale is not the problem on Boston’s staff (though the Red Sox need to give him more run support).

Steven Wright (0-1, 13.50 ERA)

Steven Wright was at worst, decent, in his first start of the 2017 season.

Against Detroit, Wright went 6.2 innings and he allowed 4 runs. Wright walked three batters and gave up seven hits. He was pitching with no run support however, as all of the Red Sox runs came in the 8th inning.

Wright faced the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday and he imploded. He was only able to record four outs in the game before exiting.

Steven Wright gave up eight hits, and eight runs to the Orioles in such a short amount of time. He allowed Baltimore to hit four home runs.

The bullpen was forced into extra duty as Ben Taylor, Fernando Abad, Joe Kelly and Robby Scott all saw action.

Wright will need to find the control on his knuckleball if he wants to remain in the Red Sox rotation when Price returns.

Eduardo Rodriguez (0-1, 5.23 ERA)

After a tough outing to begin the year, Eduardo Rodriguez actually turned things around in his second start of the season.

Pitching against the Pirates in the makeup game this week, ERod made it through 5.1 innings where he allowed two earned runs on four hits.

Rodriguez will likely remain in the big leagues when David Price returns if he can continue to improve each time out on the mound.

Drew Pomeranz (1-0, 1.50 ERA)

Drew Pomeranz finally got a start this past Tuesday against Baltimore. Surprisingly, he pitched extremely well.

Last season Pomeranz struggled inside Fenway Park, but on Tuesday he went 6.0 innings with 6 strikeouts as he allowed just one earned run. He earned the win as the Red Sox bats put eight runs on the board.

The Week Ahead

Chris Sale: vs TB, @ TOR

Steven Wright: vs TB, @ BAL

Eduardo Rodriguez: vs TB, BAL

Drew Pomeranz: @ TOR

Rick Porcello: @ TOR

The Red Sox will continue their matchups with their AL East Division rivals. Tampa Bay will play three more games at Fenway before Boston hits the road for series in Toronto and Baltimore.

Next: Mitch Moreland Fitting in Perfectly in Boston

Simply stated, the Red Sox starting pitchers need to step it up, and steady the ship for 2017.

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