Boston Red Sox: Nathan Eovaldi brings the art of pitching back to Fenway
Okay, perhaps Boston Red Sox fans can get that nightmare 18-4 beatdown behind them. After allowing the Toronto Blue Jays to have their own personal home run derby at Fenway Park the past two games, Sox pitching shut them down on Monday night.
It was actually poetry in motion the way Nathan Eovaldi was able to find that location that has been missing for the entire Red Sox starting rotation over a stretch of games in which they have combined for a 12.00 ERA.
In all, Eovaldi was back to the pitcher he was prior to that stretch. In a very important start, the flamethrower kept the Blue Jays in check pitching 6 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball in the 2-1 walk off victory thanks to the bat of Rafael Devers.
https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1404594745658294281
In a game that showed the Red Sox pitchers could actually pitch, Eovaldi struck out four, but most importantly kept the Blue Jays off the bases scattering just three hits in those 6 2/3 innings pitched.
How important was the start by Eovaldi? It was very big in not only giving the bullpen some rest but setting the tone for the rest of the starting rotation.
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"“Whenever we get on a good streak, it starts with good pitching,” Eovaldi said following the game, via MLB.com. “If you look back to the previous ones, all the starters, we were all rolling together. I think it takes one starter to go out there and do a great job, and it kind of resets everybody.”"
After the beating the pitching staff took over the past few games, it was definitely a “big one” for the team, a really big one.
Meet new Red Sox killer Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The only person in the way of Nathan Eovaldi actually getting a win Monday night was the same man who crushed Red Sox pitching the entire four-game series.
Talk about not keeping a man quiet forever, Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. tied the game in the top of the ninth with a solo blast off Matt Barnes, who eventually got the win.
While it wasn’t enough to propel the Blue Jays to victory, the display Guerrero Jr. put on at Fenway Park throughout the weekend shows he will be an absolute monster whenever he returns. Not only did he hit a homer in every game to increase his league lead in homers to 22, but he also had nine hits and eight RBIs.
Blame Red Sox pitching all you want, but this is a man who just has it and it showed even in a game where he was mostly kept quiet.
"“That’s a guy who has ‘it.’ You don’t teach that,” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said of his rising star. “Against a good closer, he just hits the ball 500 miles on a breaking pitch. This is fun to watch. I don’t think we talk enough about him. I think we do, but we should talk about him more. It’s not easy what he’s doing.”"
Well, he sure made it look easy over the weekend.
Another Boston Red Sox walk off: Oh, the joy of Rafael Devers!
Speaking of players who have it, Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers made sure he was talked about by delivering the winning hit in the game.
With runners on first and second and only one out, Devers made sure his team would go victorious into the night with a clutch RBI. He was locked in and it showed at the plate.
"“Raffy, that was a good pitch down and in, but he stayed through it and hit it out,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, as transcribed by NESN. “He’s done it before, so in the dugout, you can feel that. Okay, you know, he’s coming in, let’s try and get a hit here.”"
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The winning run delivered by Devers was his 50th of the season and it couldn’t have come at a better time as the Boston Red Sox split the series with the Blue Jays.
It didn’t feel like a split after the barrage the Blue Jays put on Saturday and Sunday, but it wasn’t a complete disaster.