Red Sox lefty Drew Pomeranz is 12-4 with a 3.39 ERA thus far in 2017. He goes up against the mighty New York Yankees at Fenway Park tonight.
The Boston Red Sox have one of the deepest and most talented starting rotations in all of baseball. There’s Chris Sale, David Price and Rick Porcello – all former Cy Young winners or runners-up. Sale has dazzled thus far, and is undoubtedly the staff leader. Porcello has rebounded after a rocky first half, as he’s won his past couple of starts. Price has had a rough go of it this year, as he’s battled injuries and lots of clubhouse drama.
Sale is the number-one guy. But after him is neither Porcello nor Price.
It’s Drew Pomeranz.
Top 5 ERAs for qualified pitchers, May 25 through Sat.:
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) August 13, 2017
1. Kluber, 1.70
2. Scherzer, 1.73
3. Gonzalez, 2.43
4. Pomeranz, 2.72
5. Sale, 2.75
Since May 25, Pomeranz has been one of the game’s best pitchers. In his last 15 starts, Pomeranz is 9-1 with a 2.72 ERA. Also, opponents are only batting .250 against him.
Prior to these last 15 starts, a big criticism of Pomeranz was that he wasn’t going deep into games. Well, Pomeranz has answered the bell, as he has 10 quality starts in that span.
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Pomeranz has a real opportunity in front of him tonight. He gets a chance to beat the second-place New York Yankees at Fenway Park. With a playoff-like atmosphere, Pomeranz has an opportunity to prove himself to the Red Sox and to all of baseball.
Just last Saturday, Pomeranz beat the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, as he went 6 2/3 innings and allowed just three runs on seven hits. But the Red Sox scored 10 runs and even though Pomeranz did pitch well, he was not one of the focal points of the game.
The Red Sox lead the Yankees by four games in the AL East and as the final month of the season approaches, every game begins to matter. With the Houston Astros struggling, the Red Sox would like to catch up to them by the end of the season and secure home field advantage throughout the American League side of the playoffs.
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On the other hand, the Yankees are trying to maintain a Wild Card spot and possibly catch up to the Red Sox in the AL East.
Both teams’ journeys continue tonight and they both begin with one guy: Drew Pomeranz.