Red Sox starters close to return.
There is a strong possibility that Nick Pivetta will be activated from the 15-day injured list to start against the Braves in Atlanta next week. The Red Sox are scheduled to play at Truist Park on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Pivetta, who has been dealing with an elbow flexor strain, recently completed a rehab start for Triple-A Worcester. During this outing, he pitched for 3 innings, giving up four runs, three hits, and four walks, while striking out five. He threw 62 pitches, with 36 of them being strikes.
The game started off challenging for Pivetta as he walked the first two batters and then allowed three consecutive singles. He threw 30 pitches in the first inning, partly due to a tight strike zone from the automated ball-strike system.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora commented on Pivetta’s performance, saying, “He threw the ball well. Struggled early with command or the strike zone, whatever it was. But got on a roll. Spoke to (WooSox manager) Chad (Tracy) today. Very happy with the way he competed. Velo was good and everything is trending in the right direction. So hopefully he feels good tomorrow and there’s a good chance he’ll pitch in Atlanta.”
Pivetta’s four-seam fastball had an average speed of 94.7 mph and reached a maximum speed of 96.4 mph.