Red Sox: Don’t sleep on Nathan Eovaldi, Sox offense in 2021

Make that two strong starting performances out of the gate for Boston Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi.

In the team’s 9-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park, Eovaldi was absolutely stellar in helping his team complete the three-game sweep over the defending American League East champions.

In a seven-inning performance, Eovaldi made the run support matter, giving up just one run on three hits and three walks.  Most importantly, he mowed down seven Tampa Bay Rays with all of his pitches working, which was great to see and most satisfying for the winning pitcher of record.

"“In spring training I learned a lot when they got to me early in the game, so I had to really mix my pitches today and I was able to do that,” Eovaldi said on a postgame video conference, as transcribed by NESN. “You know, I didn’t have really one pitch that wasn’t working. I was able to use the curveball, the slider, I used that a lot today. The cutter, splitter was good. So I was able to locate the fastball and make some mechanical adjustments the other day and they really helped me out so, I felt really good out there.”More from Chowder and Champions3 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 SeasonRed Sox Continue Rollercoaster Season With Massive Win"

After taking a loss in the season opener despite delivering a solid performance, it was nice to see Eovaldi get rewarded with a win to even his record at 1-1 with a very impressive 1.46 ERA through his first two starts.

Even more impressive is that he has just given up seven hits through 12.1 innings pitch.  Keep this up and the 2021 Boston Red Sox may surprise some folks.

Don’t sleep on the Boston Red Sox in 2021

Speaking of surprising folks, Nathan Eovaldi and the starting pitching rotation has been pretty solid through the first six games of the season.

Take away that poor outing by Garrett Richards and the Red Sox starters have pitched well enough to have this team at 4-2 or even 5-1 instead of 3-3.

With J.D. Martinez, Christian Vazquez and the Red Sox offense waking up at the plate, Eovaldi is very pleased at what he sees in a team that is doing exactly what they are capable of doing and that is competing and winning baseball games.

"“Yeah, I’m very pleased you know it, we’re a completely different team than we were last year, pitching-wise,” Eovaldi said, via NESN.  “Our bullpen, they’ve been doing a great job.  And the starers, as well, have been able to go out there and limit the walks.  We’re going out there and we’re attacking the zone, and that’s what we’ve gotta do.  We’ve gotta go out there and attack, work quick innings and get the offense back in.  I’ve said it over and over: Our offense is one of the best out there.  I feel like other teams are sleeping on us right now, which is fine.  But we’ll be able to go out there and compete.”"

Competing and attacking is exactly what the Boston Red Sox did in sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays right out of Boston.

The question is can they keep it up?

How they perform in the upcoming series against the Baltimore Orioles, who sweep them through the first three games of the season, will both set the tone and tell Red Sox Nation exactly what kind of identity this version of the team will have in 2021.