BOSTON — There were plenty of questions about the Red Sox’s rotation behind David Price going into the 2016 season, but overall, things have been better than expected.
Price has been shaky at home, but there’s no reason to think he’ll be a concern long-term, especially with an American League-leading 46 strikeouts going into Sunday’s game against the New York Yankees. Rick Porcello is 5-0 after pitching seven scoreless innings Saturday, bringing his ERA down to 2.76. And Steven Wright has been consistently good with the best ERA in the rotation at 1.37.
And then there’s Clay Buchholz.
Buchholz is averaging about 5 1/3Â innings per start, has a 6.51 ERA and has one quality start in five outings. Red Sox manager John Farrell said Sunday, unprompted, that the right-hander needs to turn things around.
“We still have room for improvement,” Farrell said. “We know that. We’ve got to get Clay going, particularly. He’s an important part of our rotation, an important part of our team. We’ve got to get him on track. But this last turn, two turns of the rotation, it’s been more consistent.”
Farrell doesn’t know exactly what it is with Buchholz because the 31-year-old has shown he can be a viable starter.
“I can’t say that it’s a glaring thing from a mechanical standpoint,” Farrell said. “There are times when we’ve seen Clay execute pitches with, I think, a greater conviction to the pitch. There are other times when maybe he’s pitched away from contact a little bit too much and not attacked the strike zone. And to me there becomes a point or an attitude on the mound that’s got to be prevailing.”
It might just be that Buchholz needs to speed his game up, as he’s one of the slower pitchers in all of Major League Baseball. Farrell said the Red Sox stress picking up the pace with Buchholz, but there’s still a healthy balance to be struck in making sure a pitcher isn’t overthinking game speed.
“To me it’s always going back to a more simplified game plan,” Farrell said of helping Buchholz improve. “The only thing that any pitcher has any control over is this pitch in this moment. To stay focused on that, not thinking what might come two, three, four pitches down the road or to think of a five to seven inning outing, those are things far beyond the control of the moment, so you’re simplifying the attack plan, and to keep the mind as clear and direct as possible.”
For now, Buchholz’s spot in the rotation isn’t the only uncertain one. With Joe Kelly hurt, Henry Owens has been in his place, and left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez is expected to return from the disabled list soon. But once the rotation returns to its original five, Buchholz might be facing a lot more scrutiny than he already is if he can’t get back on track.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
