Boston Red Sox: This is why Nathan Eovaldi is so frustrating
Nathan Eovaldi showed his No. 1 starter effectiveness leading the Boston Red Sox to a 7-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles Thursday night.
What made the Boston Red Sox 7-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles so special Thursday night was how Nathan Eovaldi looked on the mound.
In becoming the first Red Sox starter to go seven innings in a game, Eovaldi was simply in command on the mound allowing just one run on five hits while striking out six. More impressively, he threw a season-high 97 pitches, showing Boston manager Ron Roenicke that he has what it takes to go longer in games.
"“I know Nate has been after me to let him go longer, so I didn’t have to think about it today,” Roenicke said following the game, via MLB.com. “Great job with all of his pitches. His pitch count was fantastic throughout the games. He really didn’t have any stressful innings we were worried about. And just mixed his pitches well and located well, so great job there.”More from Chowder and Champions3 Patriots on the Bubble Who Have Clinched Their 53-Man Roster Spots3 Midseason Chaim Bloom Decisions That Have Killed the 2023 Red Sox10 Patriots Who Will Be Cut by Tuesday’s Roster DeadlineMLB Screws Red Sox Fans With Broadcast for Mookie Betts Return3 Most Underpaid Celtics Heading Into the 2023 Season"
Not only did he keep his team in the game, he really shut down an Orioles lineup that has been surprising folks in this shortened 60-game season.
It was just the team’s eighth victory of the season but seeing the team’s No. 1 starter looking like a No. 1 starter gives the otherwise dreadful Red Sox some form of hope and energy going forward.
As for Eovaldi himself, watching him dominate on the mound pitching the way he did was both nice to see and frustrating at the same time.
Nathan Eovaldi so good, he’s frustrating
Why frustrating?
Frustrating, because Nathan Eovaldi teases with the type of dominance he displayed on the mound Thursday night so sporadically. Some of it has been due to injury, but if the hard-throwing righty showed more consistency on the mound in his career, he would be a top-level pitcher.
In fairness to Eovaldi, he has been the team’s most consistent pitcher this season and the team will need alot more dazzling performances out of their No. 1 starter if they will have any hope of climbing out of the 8-18 hole.
In overcoming a tough first inning, Nathan Eovaldi didn’t only impress his own manager, but impressed Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, who watched the Red Sox righty mix up his pitches nicely which kept his batting lineup off balance.
"“I saw Nate Eovaldi give us a really tough time,” Hyde said. “That was an unbelievable start. That was Nate being really, really good, throwing every pitch for a strike: The fastball, the cutter, the split, the breaking ball and being on for seven innings.”"
Unbelievable is a pretty nice description on a night where Nathan Eovaldi once again teased with how good he can be when everything is working.
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With enough offense coming offense solo homer from Xander Bogaerts and a game-clinching three-run homer off the bat of Mitch Moreland, the Boston Red Sox have a little two-game winning streak that feels much sweeter given the performance off the one pitcher they are counting on to lead a struggling starting rotation.