Red Sox Notes: Nick Pivetta’s ‘Tough One’ Leads To Loss

Red Sox pitcher Nick Pivetta recorded his 1,000th career strikeout Saturday, reaching the milestone in a nice moment at Fenway Park.

It’s a moment that immediately was overshadowed by what came next.

The Brewers reached base in six consecutive plate appearances, all with two outs, to build a lead that could not be caught up to. Milwaukee went on to win, 6-3, though just one pitch could have made a difference.

“He was one pitch from getting out of it,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “He had to work for it today. They did a good job fighting pitches. His command was a little bit off, he felt fine stuff wise, but it was a tough one.”

Pivetta wasn’t able to miss bats throughout his 3 1/3-inning outing, giving up sevens hits and five earned runs, while walking as many as he struck out (three).

“I’m only going to pitch well if I don’t walk guys,” Pivetta said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “I got behind guys and walked guys. I paid for it, regardless of the contact, getting into those counts and walking guys led to damage. I wasn’t able to get the job done today.”

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Here are more notes from Saturday afternoon’s matchup between the Red Sox and Brewers:

— Garrett Whitlock spoke to media prior to the game, revealing he’d thrown his final pitch of 2024. The Red Sox are sending him to Birmingham, Ala. to get surgery, though it’s unknown which route Dr. Jeff Dugas will go. Whitlock seemed to be in relatively good spirits considering the news.

— Boston faced the same starter in back-to-back games, with Milwaukee’s Jared Koenig going on both Friday and Saturday. It’s the first time that has happened since Sept. 27-28, 1958, when Pedro Ramos did it for the Washington Senators, as pointed out by Christopher Smith of MassLive.

— Nick Pivetta had a night to forget, but he did become the sixth Canadian-born pitcher to record 1,000 career strikeouts.

— Tyler O’Neill left the game with right knee soreness, exiting in the eighth inning. Rob Refsnyder replaced him in left field.

“He didn’t feel great throughout,” Cora said. “It’s day-to-day, so hopefully — we’ll see tomorrow but probably will stay away from him to be ready for Monday.

— The Red Sox will conclude their short homestand Sunday, putting a bow on their series against the Brewers at Fenway Park. It’ll be the final meeting between the two teams this season, with first pitch scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET, following an hour of pregame coverage on NESN.