BOSTON — Even the best bullpens in baseball are only as good as their starting rotations.
The Red Sox have learned that fact early in the season, after the bullpen lost its third of 12 total games Monday in a 4-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. And even though starter Clay Buchholz pitched 6 2/3 innings without giving up a run, that didn’t take away the extra innings the relievers had been pitching until Boston’s last four starts.
Going into Tuesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Red Sox were 23rd in innings pitched for starters (66 2/3 innings) but 13th in innings pitched for relievers (39 1/3 innings).
“Ideally that corrects itself,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said Tuesday. “That means we’ve got to have starters that go through the order three times and hopefully get 21 outs as more of a regularity. That’s always a positive. … We’d love to get more innings out of our rotation, and I don’t know that you ever come away feeling that they can’t pitch more. That’s not to say we’ve got 12 guys we’re going to rely on, but the more innings your starters pitch, then your bullpen’s probably coming in with appropriate rest.”
Farrell admitted he’s pushed set-up man Koji Uehara early — Uehara earned the loss Monday, and he’s already thrown 7 1/3 innings — and now the skipper said he’s in a situation where he’ll have to avoid using the 41-year-old right-hander. But if there’s a silver lining, it’s that the Red Sox’s rotation has turned in four straight quality starts, and their starting pitchers historically haven’t been great in April.
“If you’ve been a power type of pitcher, I don’t believe power pitchers get their true velocity and their true command and overall stuff until you’re into May,” Farrell said. “Whether that’s four to six starts into it, that’s when things seem to start to come together, and I don’t think you can just look at a velocity radar gun and say, well, he’s throwing the same amount, or he’s throwing at the same level or velocity.
“When you’re talking about consistent execution and maintaining your arm slot with all types of pitches, that takes a number of innings and a number of starts to get under your belt. And I think that’s where you get through that first month and guys start to hit stride.”
Things also should get better for Boston’s bullpen once Carson Smith returns from the forearm injury that caused him to start his season on the disabled list. Smith threw 25 pitches in a simulated game in Fort Myers, Fla., on Tuesday, and Farrell said things are going well.
“With his role, with the type of reliever he is, yeah, we anticipate this (rehab) going relatively — I don’t want to say relatively quick, but it’s certainly not a number of outings where you’ve got to build up 60 to 70 pitches,” Farrell said. “In talking with him the other night over the phone, we felt like this week will be a very good work test for him with the Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday schedule, and then things could advance relatively quick from there.”
The Red Sox are only 12 games into their season, so there’s no need to hit the panic button yet. But if this is something that continues for Boston, then 2016 might not be as fruitful as many predict.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
