Nick Pivetta outduels Jacob deGrom as Red Sox shut out Mets

Jacob deGrom rightfully earned most of the attention heading into Wednesday, but by the end of the night, Nick Pivetta had something to say, too.

Fresh off a strong performance last week, when he carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, Pivetta was impressive again, outdueling the opposing Mets ace to lead the Red Sox to a 1-0 win and take a two-game series sweep in New York.

Pivetta was viewed as something of a project when the Red Sox traded for him last August in a deal with the Phillies, who essentially gave up on the 28-year-old. He was sent to the alternate site in Pawtucket to rework himself and made a strong debut at the end of the season.

This year, he’s picked up where he left off, and his performance Wednesday against a two-time Cy Young winner who was off to a historic run this season was impressive. Though he labored a bit through a long first inning, Pivetta rebounded to throw five shutout innings against a struggling Mets lineup, as he gave up just one hit and struck out seven.

In five starts this season, Pivetta is sporting a 2.81 ERA, and he has a 2.56 ERA in seven career starts with the Red Sox dating back to last season.

He had to be good to beat deGrom, who was coming off a complete-game two-hitter with 15 strikeouts, and the Mets’ ace was good enough to win, again, but he gave up two doubles in the second that became the difference. Pivetta helped his own cause by battling a 10-pitch at-bat with deGrom, and though he struck out, it was a microcosm of deGrom’s night as he had to work for everything he got against the Red Sox’ league-leading offense.

Beyond two walks to start the game, Pivetta had good control of all three of his pitches. He produced 15 swings and misses, including on a fastball that Francisco Lindor whiffed to end the third, which fired up Pivetta as he walked off the mound.

Red Sox got enough off deGrom: The Red Sox entered Wednesday with the highest batting average against fastballs in MLB, while deGrom had the highest whiff rate in baseball. Something had to give.

In the second, it was deGrom. The right-hander gave up two doubles, both on fastballs. The first one was to Xander Bogaerts, and then after Rafael Devers moved him to third, Christian Vazquez came up with a huge knock, a double to the opposite field to give the Sox a 1-0 lead.

Whitlock impressed again: Garrett Whitlock took the ball for the biggest spot of his young career as he was called on to protect a one-run lead in the sixth and seventh, and he passed with flying colors. He pitched two shutout innings and struck out four Mets. The rookie Rule 5 pick has still not given up an earned run in 13 1/3 innings.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3u4okDA