Red Sox veteran Steven Wright has been one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball this season, and that was evident in Boston’s 5-1 win over the New York Yankees on Sunday night.
The knuckleballer threw a complete game and allowed just one earned run and three hits, while striking out seven and walking only one. He needed just 53 pitches to complete five innings, allowing only a single hit through the first five frames.
You can look but you better not touch. #RedSox pic.twitter.com/Inmwkm0OzO
— Red Sox (@RedSox) May 9, 2016
Wright has a 1.52 ERA, which easily is the best in Boston’s rotation. He’s given up just seven runs the entire campaign. For some perspective, David Price allowed six earned runs to the Yankees on Saturday alone.
The veteran starter has pitched at least six innings in all six of his outings, and he’s allowed four or fewer hits in four of those starts. Wright also hasn’t given up more than two runs in any one outing.
Wright wasn’t even supposed to be in the rotation to begin the season, but now it would be impossible to think of it without him. He’s been the most consistent and successful Red Sox pitcher in 2016.
— You’ve probably heard, but David Ortiz is in his final MLB season, and he’s earned a ton of respect for his on-field performance and the way he’s been an ambassador for the sport. That respect comes from his rivals, too, including Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.
“I came up watching Larry Bird and Magic Johnson,” Rodriguez told Andrew Marchand of ESPN.com. “To me, in many ways, he is our version of Magic Johnson. He is loved by everyone, respected by all. He is a large voice in our game and is one of the most prolific clutch hitters in the history of the game. He has been the centerpiece of three world championships. I can’t say enough great things about him.”
— Speaking of Ortiz, he hit two home runs Sunday night to move past Carl Yastrzemski and into second place on the Red Sox’s all-time list. Ortiz also passed San Francisco Giants legend Mel Ott on the all-time MLB leaderboard with his 512th career homer.
— Jackie Bradley Jr. went 2-for-3 and extended his hit streak to a career-long 13 games, the longest active streak in Major League Baseball. Hanley Ramirez entered Sunday with the league’s second-longest active hit streak at 10 games, but that ended after he struck out three times and reached base in the ninth after being hit by a pitch.
— Sunday night’s game was unusually short for Red Sox-Yankees.
— Red Sox prospect Yoan Moncada has incredible talent, and that includes plenty of power at the plate. He displayed a lot of it on a recent opposite field home run.
Thumbnail photo via Andy Marlin/USA TODAY Sports Images
