How Advice From Red Sox’s Rich Hill Aided Nick Pivetta’s Complete Game

The Boston Red Sox received much-needed help from starter Nick Pivetta in their 5-1 win over the Houston Astros on Wednesday at Fenway Park.

Not only did the veteran right-hander help Boston win their second series in a row, but he kept the bullpen fully rested just one day after they were tasked with recording 7 1/3 innings.

After the game, Pivetta credited his teammate Rich Hill for helping him with his breaking ball, which was on full display on Wednesday night.

“Having Rich here has helped me out a lot,” Pivetta said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “Just kind of talking about the pitch (the curveball), what he does, how he’s had success, how he uses it and just having confidence in the pitch and using it more. Utilizing it more in the zone allows my fastball up to play more and allows me to just command the zone a little more.”

What Pivetta did against the Astros certainly worked. He allowed one run on two hits with no walks and eight strikeouts in the complete-game effort.