Red Sox Notes: Drew Pomeranz's High Pitch Count Proves Costly In Boston's Loss

Drew Pomeranz’s start Saturday afternoon was a short one.

The Boston Red Sox left-handed starter only threw four innings with his pitch count (97) nearing triple digits. He minimized the damage while he was in the game, as he allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits while striking out six and walking two. But the bullpen had to take things over in the fifth, and Ben Taylor and Co. struggled mightily.

The cameras also showed Pomeranz getting into a heated discussion with manager John Farrell, who offered an explanation for what happened after the 8-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics at Oakland Coliseum.

“He didn’t want to come out of the game,” Farrell said of Pomeranz, via the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato. “So that was a discussion we had. And it’s been settled. You have to find a way to get more efficient, bottom line. The game of pitching is trying to get a little deeper. He’s out there competing, trying to do that, and yet a lot of deep counts, a lot of high pitch counts. And when you’re looking at 25 pitches an inning, after an outing where there was some physical issues, felt like that was the end of the day today.”

Pomeranz also explained what happened.

“I like to stay in the game as long as I can” he said, per the Herald. “Sometimes it’s not up to me. I threw a lot of pitches too, so it’s not like there’s much I can say.”

Let’s take a look at a few more notes from Red Sox vs. A’s.

— David Price went through some ups and downs in his rehab start Friday night. The Red Sox left-hander threw 65 pitches over two innings, and he allowed three runs on five hits while striking out four and walking one. So, instead of Price coming right up to the majors, Red Sox manager John Farrell announced Saturday that he’ll make another rehab start for Triple-A Pawtucket.

“The fact that he threw that high number of pitches in two innings was a great test for him physically,” Farrell told reporters, via Mastrodonato. “Had a chance to speak to him live here this morning. He’s at Fenway working out. He’ll throw a light bullpen tomorrow and he’ll start for Pawtucket on Wednesday.”

Farrell added: “Just continue to build out the innings, the number of pitches thrown, and get back into the flow of things,” Farrell said. “It’s about going out and executing pitches. That’s not to say he did’’t last night but there were a high number of foul balls and deep pitch-counts and deep at-bats. But the bottom line is he feels great physically. Threw long-toss aggressively. That’s probably equally as positive of a hurdle as it would have been if he went six innings last night and 80 pitches.”

Price has yet to pitch in the big leagues this season after suffering a left elbow strain during spring training.

— Pablo Sandoval returned to third base for his second rehab assignment Saturday for the PawSox. He went 1-for-3 with a single.

— So, Dustin Pedroia said something rather interesting and a bit NSFW after the game. You can take a look in Pete Abraham’s tweet below, but it comes with a warning for language.