For Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Nick Pivetta, it’s been a quick, and successful, turnaround after getting roughed up in his first three starts of the season.
Pivetta had without a doubt his best outing of the 2022 campaign, and arguably his best showing since joining the Red Sox, on Wednesday night in a 5-1 win over the Houston Astros when he threw a complete game two-hitter.
Following the masterful performance, Pivetta pointed to doing the little things on the mound that has helped him find success once again.
“It’s my mechanics, it’s my timing. Just that to be honest with you,” Pivetta said, as seen in NESN postgame coverage. “It’s as simple as that. It’s nothing more.”
Pivetta added: “And then, just getting more confident. Confidence goes on, get into a rhythm, allows me to keep my legs.”
After allowing a lead-off home run to Jose Altuve, Pivetta was in complete control, shutting down the Astros by fanning eight batters and allowing no walks.
Pivetta, who improved to 2-4 on the season with a 4.22 earned run average, not only credited sticking to the fundamentals in getting him back on track, but he also gave praise to the coaching staff and Rich Hill for helping him work through his early-season struggles.
“I had a lot of people help me out,” Pivetta said. “A lot of the coaching staff really dug deep. … Had AC (Alex Cora) texting me at one o’clock in the morning. It’s been a really good group effort and I’m really appreciative of those guys.”
The Red Sox are back in action on Thursday when Hill toes the rubber to start a four-game series against the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
