Nick Pivetta competed at his best level during parts of five seasons with the Boston Red Sox after coming over from the Philadelphia Phillies at the 2020 trade deadline.
He becomes a free agent this offseason and pitched 6 2/3 strong innings against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night at Fenway Park even though the Red Sox suffered a 2-1 loss.
Despite another season of falling short of the postseason, Alex Cora reflected postgame on some of Pivetta's greatest moments in a Red Sox uniform, from striking out Juan Soto to clinch a playoff berth in 2021 followed by four dominant scoreless innings in Game 3 of the ALDS against the Rays.
"The breaking ball to Soto," Cora told reporters, per NESN's postgame coverage. "That's a good one that will always be there. The game against Tampa, (Kevin) Kiermaier hits that ball to right center with the weird rule. We got out of it and he was like high-stepping all the way back to the dugout. The Oakland one was good a few years ago. This year, he struck out (eight) in a row early on. It's one of those. Him coming out of the bullpen was always cool. He hated it."
Story continues below advertisement
Cora referenced key regular season moments for the Red Sox as well with Pivetta struck out 13 batters in relief against the Oakland Athletics in 2023 to eight consecutive strikeouts twice this season against Oakland and the Detroit Tigers. The Boston manager appreciated Pivetta always being "ready to pitch" over the course of his tenure.
Pivetta potentially ends his Red Sox career with a 37-41 record with a 4.29 ERA in 107 outings for Boston.
Featured image via Bob DeChiara/Imagn Images
