Nick Pivetta’s gem leads Red Sox to heart-pounding series win over A’s

With a quick turnaround after an exhausting extra innings loss, the Red Sox were in a bit of desperation mode on Sunday.

Xander Bogaerts, who rarely takes a day off, texted Alex Cora that he needed one after back-to-back games that went extras. The bullpen was taxed, and in the middle of a six-game west coast swing, the Red Sox needed a big lift.

Nick Pivetta delivered.

After one of his worst starts of the season last week, the fiery right-hander knew he needed to be better, and knew he needed to go deeper. He checked both of those off exactly when the Red Sox needed on Sunday, as he tossed seven shutout innings to lead a hard-earned 1-0 win over the A’s to take two out of three in Oakland.

Pivetta has been one of the best stories of the Red Sox’ first half. He started 6-0, but fell on some hard times in June, a month that saw him give up nine home runs and post a 5.40 ERA. But a no-hit bid in Tampa helped give him some positive momentum, and Sunday may have been his best start with the Red Sox yet.

Matched in a pitchers’ duel with A’s starter James Kaprielian, the Red Sox needed every bit of Pivetta’s performance. They scratched just six hits on the afternoon, five against Kaprielian, and finally broke through in the sixth. Alex Verdugo led off with a double off the wall in left before advancing to third on J.D. Martinez’s double. Rafael Devers’ grounded into a double play, but Verdugo scored for the game’s first run.

Pivetta, meanwhile, was in the middle of tossing a gem. He worked out of a tough jam in the first as he struck out Jed Lowrie to end it with runners on second and third, and mostly cruised from there as he retired 14 batters in a row. He struck out a season-high 10 over seven innings, his longest start of the season.

The Red Sox threatened to add on when Rafael Devers hit a leadoff double in the eighth, but it came up empty. Garrett Whitlock pitched a shutout eighth before Cora turned to Barnes in the ninth, and the freshly-minted All-Star worked a tightrope to protect the win. With a runner on third and two outs, Barnes struck out Seth Brown to earn his 19th save of the season.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3hfvy3O