August 3, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Tanner Houck (89) during the sixth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field Leave. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Milone-USA TODAY Sports There’s nothing wrong with the Boston Red Sox’s offense, but the same can’t be said for the team’s pitching. The Red Sox head into Friday’s game against the visiting Houston Astros hungry for a strong effort on the mound.
In the 18 games since the All-Star break, Boston has averaged an MLB-high 6.5 points per game, but the team’s ERA during that period is 5.96, ahead of only the Chicago White Sox (6.22). Boston’s starting pitchers posted a 9.20 ERA on Wednesday during a six-game road trip that ended with an 8-4 loss to Kansas City.
Although the Red Sox went 4-2 in that contest, their starters pitched 29 1/3 innings in those six games.
“Our pitching staff is not happy about it,” Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey told MassLive.com. “I’m pretty sure I can speak for the pitchers out there, we don’t want to have that many games, the offense has to Dig us out of trouble, or come back and then have to score again.
“We just have to keep working hard. We’re doing the best we can in terms of messaging to make sure we execute our pitches when we need to, get the counts we need and limit the walks. We’re finding a lot of buckets right now and we’ve got to find ways to adapt.”
The Red Sox announced Wednesday that Nick Pivetta will miss the next round of the rotation due to arm fatigue. They are scheduled to start All-Star right-hander Tanner Houck (8-8, 3.09 ERA) against Houston right-hander Ronel Blanco (9-0) in Friday’s three-game series opener 6 losses, 2.98).
Hoke has yet to win since entering the All-Star Game, losing two of four games, including a 7-4 loss to Texas State on Saturday. He is 0-1 with two saves and a 3.52 ERA in three career games against Houston (one start).
Heading into the team’s win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 27, Blanco had lost three of his last four starts, including one winless game.
Unlike the Red Sox, the Astros have struggled to score. Houston beat Texas 6-4 on Wednesday but had only scored 11 points in its previous five games.
The Astros had 13 hits on Wednesday, including seven players with at least one hit.
“This is a huge win,” Houston head coach Joe Espada said. “We did a lot of things well.
“This is a good offense. At some point it’s going to turn around. You just have to keep grinding and keep talking to guys about quality at-bats. What they want to do to us. Teams see what we do. Some of the trends that we’re doing – the team is watching – so we have to make adjustments.
Houston’s Yordan Alvarez enters Friday’s game with a .351 road average, the highest among American League players.
Houston’s Zach Dezenzo went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs in Wednesday’s win after going hitless in four at-bats in his major league debut on Tuesday. He was Houston’s designated hitter on Tuesday, but was used at first base on Wednesday.
DeCenzo is Houston’s No. 4 overall pick, according to MLB Pipeline.
“This is day two and he’s putting day one behind him,” Espada said. “He looks like he belongs there. He looks really confident. He’s playing really good defense. He’s hitting the ball hard. He’s hitting some good shots. He’s aggressive. , he is very confident.
Boston is 34-24 on the road but 27-28 at home. Houston’s home record is 32-26 and its road record is 27-29.
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