The Boston Red Sox bullpen locked it down yet again Tuesday night in a 7-6 win against the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park.
Boston’s bullpen — Yacksel Rios, Darwinzon Hernandez, Adam Ottavino and closer Matt Barnes — were responsible for the final 4 2/3 innings after a short start from right-hander Nick Pivetta. They did not allow a single run in the effort while allowing a combine four hits and one walk.
Boston relievers now have a 0.46 ERA in their last six games as they’ve pitched 19 2/3 innings with one earned run, per Red Sox Notes. And while that specific stat may be a more recent sample size, the reality is the bullpen has been nails dating back months. Boston Sports Info noted Tuesday that during 63 innings in June, Boston’s bullpen had a combined ERA is 1.71.
It’s not crazy to think it is one of the best in baseball at this point.
Barnes is just the latest to acknowledge the incredible run the group is putting together.
“Bullpen has been throwing the ball really well. I think for the vast majority of the season the bullpen has been really, really solid,” Barnes said on a postgame video conference. “We’ve got some guys out there with a bunch of experience, we got some young guys who have absolutely electric stuff.
“It doesn’t really come as a surprise, honestly,” Barnes added. “I kind of saw it in spring training. … Guys are feeding off each other, guys are doing their thing, wanting the ball, competing and going out there and doing their job in big situations. It’s been awesome, it really has.”
One potential concern in the long run could be the taxing of relievers due to starting pitchers beginning to struggle to eat up innings. Pivetta, for example, went just 4 1/3 while allowing six runs Tuesday. Garrett Richards labored into the sixth Monday night, but that came after a string of short starts. And they’re not alone.
The 31-year-old Barnes, however, isn’t concerned with that himself.
“Not at all. Nope,” he said. “I’ve gone 70 games in a season and another 10 in the postseason. I feel really good right now. I’m not going to speak for anybody else, but I feel really good right now.
“(Alex Cora) and (Dave Bush) do a really good job of making sure that if we need a day, we get a day. They’re playing the long game,” Barnes added. “They know we have a really good team. We have a team that’s going to go out there to compete to win a division, hopefully make it back to the postseason. So they’re doing a really good job of making sure we manage that.”
Barnes recorded his 18th save of the season Tuesday. He entered the game with a 2.73 ERA and now has pitched 34 innings on the season.
