Red Sox Notes: Boston Holding Off Pitching Changes Despite Temptation

Nick Pivetta was absolutely masterful in his performance out of the Red Sox bullpen in Boston’s shutout win over the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.

That’s why the Red Sox intend on keeping things the way they are.

Pivetta was dominant against the league-worst A’s, striking out a franchise-record 13 batters in six innings of hitless work at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The performance helped Pivetta push his ERA to 2.31 in 35 innings out of the bullpen, impressing Boston along the way.

“That was impressive,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “He had a good fastball, good command of his off-speed pitches, working ahead. Great tempo. … That was fun to watch.”

Though continued success in a bulk role could influence the thought of moving Pivetta back to the rotation, especially with all of Boston’s injuries, the Red Sox don’t intend on making that move right away.

“We were joking on the bench — me, (game-plan coordinator Jason Varitek) and (pitching coach Dave Bush), ‘Maybe he feels now that he should become a starter,'” Cora said. “It’s the other way around. The better he pitches — this is the structure we need.

“At one point he probably needs to start, we’re going to play 14-15 games in a row. But for now, this is a structure we like. … A lot of people were worried when he got quote-unquote demoted to the bullpen because he wants to be a starter and he has the potential to be a starter, but he took it the other way. He’s like, ‘I’m going to contribute. I’m going to help this team, however. Whatever role you give me I’m going to perform.’ So far so good.”

“At one point he probably needs to start — we’re going to play 14–15 games in a row. But for now, this is a structure we like.”

Red Sox manager Alex Cora on Nick Pivetta’s role in bullpen

Here are more notes from Monday night’s Red Sox-A’s game:

— Pivetta’s incredible 13-strikeout performance set a franchise record for most by a reliever in Red Sox history, breaking Diego Segui’s record of 12 in 1974. It was the most strikeouts by a reliever without allowing a hit since the mound was set at its current distance in 1893, per ESPN Stats and Info.

— Randy Johnson is the only pitcher to strike out more batters in a relief appearance in Major League Baseball history, sitting down 16 after taking over for Curt Schilling in a suspended game in 2001, per Alex Speier of The Boston Globe.

“I mean, whenever you’re put alongside a pitcher like Randy it’s a great honor,” Pivetta said postgame. “I guess I’m just going out there to compete. I want to do my job and put us in a good position to win. All those things are great things, but the most important thing is that we won a baseball game today.”

— Boston moved to 51-44 with the win, putting it seven games above .500 — which matches the season high. The Red Sox are 1 1/2 games out of the American League Wild Card after the win.

— Connor Wong finished 3-for-4 from the plate with three RBIs, helping push the game out of Oakland’s reach. He was also superb in catching Pivetta, saying he could “feel” the performance coming.

“I think you can just feel it,” Wong said. “The way the ball comes out of his hand — when I’m catching it I can feel how explosive it is. That’s when I know.”

— Chris Martin made his 300th MLB appearance Monday, closing things out in the ninth inning.

— The Red Sox and A’s will continue their three-game set Tuesday at Oakland Coliseum. First pitch is scheduled for 9:40 p.m. ET and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.