By Jack Lund ’19
Staff Writer
Over the course of the baseball season when it comes to the issues facing the Red Sox it starts with the starting pitching woes. While the first two pitchers in the rotation Chris Sale and Drew Pomeranz have had Cy young caliber seasons the other three pitchers Rick Porcello, Eduardo Rodriguez and Doug Fister have been disappointing. Rick Porcello is the reigning Cy young award winner from 2016 when he went 22-4 however this year he is 10-17 with a 4.46 ERA. The last time a reigning Cy Young Award Winner has lost 17 games after winning the Cy Young was Jim Lonborg in 1965. However the Red Sox always have trouble giving run support for one pitcher in the rotation whether it was John Lackey in 2013 or Chris Sale this year.
Getting back to the topic of the Cy Young award, there are two contenders for the award this year: Corey Kluber and Chris Sale. Chris Sale in his first season with the Red Sox after being traded during the offseason is on pace to have over 300 strikeouts which is a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since Pedro Martinez in 1999. Corey Kluber was in the running for the Cy Young award race last year however, he finished third behind Rick Porcello and Justin Verlander.
Even though the bullpen has been a strength for the Red Sox this season they have been over used at certain times. If the Red Sox want to go far in the playoffs this year manager John Farrell is going to need to do a better job with the bullpen as the season comes to an end. John Farrell also needs to learn to trust more of his bullpen pitchers other than just Craig Kimbrel because if Farrell wants to keep using him he is going to be used up when John Farrell needs him in the 9th inning of an important game in the playoffs.
In conclusion over the course of this season the Red Sox have had great pitching in the late innings. They have been able to win games because of this pitching from the bullpen and when the playoffs begin the Red Sox have a good chance of making a deep playoff run if the bullpen continues to perform.
