Want to get away? The Boston Red Sox do. With all the hand-wringing going on in bean town, the road will do these defending champs some good.
Boston has only the 19th best home record in the MLB, barely above .500. On the road they’ve been much better. They sport the 4th best record in the MLB when in enemy territory.
red soxTo help them get right, they send to the mound their only starting pitcher this year that has surprised to the upside.
Eduardo Rodriguez (14-5, 4.10 ERA) has been solid all year and better recently. In the second half of the season, Rodriguez is 5-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 8 starts. The Red Sox have won each of his last 5 road starts, and 10 of his last 12 starts overall.
The Padres start rookie, Chris Paddack, who may have hit the rookie wall. Over his last 28 days, Paddock is 1-1 in 4 starts with a 6.3 ERA.
These results starkly contrast with the unhittable player we saw start to the season. After posting a 1.55 ERA in his first seven starts, Paddack has posted a 4.47 ERA over his last 14 starts.
Paddack allowed just 5 runs in his first 31.2 innings pitching at home in San Diego. In 21.2 innings since, he has allowed 10 runs at Petco Park.
Quietly the Red Sox bullpen has been strong as well. Boston boasts the 2nd best bullpen ERA in August, and the 5th best bullpen xFIP.
What’s hilarious these days is that even teams whose bullpens are performing relatively well are nonetheless lambasted by their fan bases constantly. Fans lament any late inning runs that cross the plate, even when they are few and far between.
In 2012, 12 MLB bullpens sported a collective ERA lower than 3.43. Today, none do. Cleveland is at 3.44 and the second lowest is the Tampa Bay Rays at 3.61. Only the Rays relievers have been more effective than Red Sox relievers over the past month.
Most Red Sox faithful deride the bullpen any chance they get – and that noise reverberates and I think affects their market price. I for one appreciate their pick up in play. Take Boston with confidence.