Some pitchers simply are not cut out for performing under the bright lights that come with postseason baseball.
Nathan Eovaldi is not one of those pitchers.
Eovaldi has been a playoff dynamo since joining the Red Sox in 2018. The right-hander's contributions to Boston's World Series championship that season cannot be understated, and his 5 1/3-inning gem against the New York Yankees last Tuesday helped the Sox get into the dance this October.
So, what about the postseason setting prompts Eovaldi to level up?
"Everything," Eovaldi told reporters Saturday, per MLB.com. "I feel like you're definitely a little more locked in, you're more focused. The energy and the atmosphere, too. Being in the stadium, the fans are locked in from the first pitch on. To be able to battle in those games, it's a lot of fun. The energy throughout the dugout, everybody's locked in and contributing."
Eovaldi will try to tack onto his impressive playoff stats Sunday when he takes the ball for Game 3 of Boston's American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays. NESN will provide pregame and postgame coverage of the contest, which has a scheduled 4:07 p.m. ET first pitch.
