The Boston Red Sox‘s rotation has been performing at an incredible level as of late.
It has been the driving force behind the team’s resurrection.
The Red Sox were, at one point, the worst team in the AL East, with a worse record than the Baltimore Orioles.
But now, they are 29-27 and in possession of the sixth and last playoff spot in the American League if the regular season ended today.
A lot of the recent success should be attributed to Nate Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, Garrett Whitlock, Rich Hill, and Michael Wacha.
Not only they have all been great in recent games, but they also contribute something that the game itself has been gradually losing for years now: length.
Once upon a time, the starting pitcher was expected to go all the way, or at least contribute seven or eight frames.
But times change, and baseball, naturally, also changes.
Right now, teams prefer their starter to go just two times through the opposing team’s lineup, and then they bring in the relievers.
This often caps starters to four or five frames.
Going The Distance
But the Red Sox’s starters are talented enough to go deep, and while the organization certainly understands recent trends and approaches, they let pitchers stay on the mound if their performance warrants it.
This is evidenced in one stat: complete games.
“Complete Games by team this season: 3: Red Sox; 1: Reds, Astros, Angels, Dodgers, Marlins, Rangers, Nationals; 0: Every other team,” Baseball Reference tweeted.
Complete Games by team this season:
3: Red Sox
1: Reds, Astros, Angels, Dodgers, Marlins, Rangers, Nationals
0: Every other team#RedSox | #MLBhttps://t.co/32u6qqhAbp pic.twitter.com/3JzaWCnQGt
— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) June 8, 2022
Just eight of the 30 teams have had at least one pitcher go the distance.
The Red Sox are the ones who have let that happen most often, with three.
Just another fun fact about a red-hot team.
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