When the Red Sox assembled this yr’s pitching employees a particular emphasis was positioned on avoiding walks. No matter what else occurred the Red Sox weren’t going to maintain capturing themselves within the foot by giving opposing batters a free go.
Maybe in the long term that’ll nonetheless work out, however Thursday the employees couldn’t have gotten off to a worse begin.
Red Sox pitchers have been far and wide Opening Day, surrendering 9 walks and 15 hits within the 10-9 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. They additionally surrendered 5 stolen bases and at factors regarded fully uncompetitive.
“Too many walks, a lot of traffic, right? We’ve got to be better at that,” mentioned Red Sox supervisor Alex Cora. “Nine walks as a team, we’ve been talking about throwing strikes and attacking the zone. … Not great, we’ve got to be better in that aspect.”
The efficiency was notably surprising on condition that it started with Corey Kluber. No starter within the huge leagues was higher at avoiding walks in 2022, and final season he had just one recreation during which he walked greater than two batters.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner can be MLB’s lively chief in walks per 9 innings (2.0), and but Thursday he issued 4 free passes together with two house runs en path to a five-run mess over 3.1 innings.
“I’d rather they beat me by earning it than me handing out free passes, I did that more than I would have liked to today,” mentioned Kluber, who solely threw 48 of his 80 pitches for strikes. “I’ll have to make some adjustments before the next time and try to do better.”
Kluber wasn’t the one one who couldn’t discover the plate. Zack Kelly got here on with the bases loaded and instantly threw a wild pitch to permit the runner on third to attain. He’d stroll two extra earlier than getting out of the fourth, and within the fifth Ryan Brasier endured an unpleasant inning that noticed the Orioles run on him like an overwhelmed corridor monitor. He gave up three stolen bases and allowed one other to advance on a wild pitch on prime of his two walks.
Even Chris Martin, who solely walked 5 batters all yr in 2022, walked the primary man he confronted within the prime of the ninth.
All informed Red Sox pitchers collectively threw solely 117 of their 191 complete pitches for strikes (61.2%). Maybe the 38 diploma temperatures and biting wind chill had an affect — although it didn’t appear to hassle the Orioles as a lot — and possibly the nerves and pleasure of Opening Day threw them off their recreation.
Whatever occurred, the Red Sox need to hope Thursday was an aberration and never an indication of issues to come back.
Source: www.bostonherald.com