Red Sox’s Alex Cora Sticking By ‘Careful’ Approach With Nick Pivetta

BOSTON — The Red Sox already have their fair share of pitching issues in place, therefore, being cautious with right-hander Nick Pivetta seems to be in the teams’ best interests moving forward.

Pivetta, who struggled as a starter but has flourished as a reliever, last threw four innings of work against the Blue Jays during Saturday night’s series finale in Toronto. While that’s encouraging, certainly considering the state of Boston’s starting rotation, Red Sox manager Alex Cora is pumping the brakes on the idea of re-shifting the 30-year-old veteran’s role.

“You cannot go five innings, six innings right away with him. You have to be careful because we haven’t stretched him out,” Cora said after Boston’s 6-2 loss to the Rangers on Tuesday. “Even the other day when he went four, you can see towards the end that it was kind of like a grind. … I think physically he can do it, but you gotta be careful. And obviously, bullpen-wise, you have to be careful too.”

The Red Sox last started Pivetta on May 16 against the Mariners, in which he allowed four earned runs through 5 1/3 frames, landing in the bullpen — a move that’s paid off swimmingly for both sides.

Since pitching as a reliever, Pivetta has recorded a 2.63 ERA, allowing seven earned runs in 24 innings pitched while also holding opponents to a .131 batting average in 13 appearances.

Although advocating for a Pivetta re-shift is understandable with how much movement has occurred recently in trying to keep Boston’s starting staff afloat, the plan won’t change yet. On Independence Day, the Red Sox ran with six relief pitchers — Brennan Bernardino, Kaleb Ort, Chris Murphy, Justin Garza, Brandon Walter and Tayler Scott — against the Rangers.

“It’s hard for everybody,” Cora explained. “If you lose four or five starters at this level, it’s hard to do. But I think we’ve done an outstanding job piecing it together. Murph has been solid, Pivetta has been good. It’s not easy but this is where we at right now and we got five more games before the All-Star Break, but we do feel like we can do it.”