James Paxton is providing the Red Sox rotation with a spark
James Paxton is providing the Red Sox rotation with a spark
After a more than two-year hiatus from pitching in the majors, James Paxton returned to the mound eight days ago against the Cardinals. The Canadian native dazzled against St. Louis and showed the Fenway faithful why the wait was worth it. In two starts this season, he has made an immediate impact and provided a spark to a Red Sox team that is play exciting baseball.
In 11 innings of work over the last two weeks, Paxton has posted a 2.45 ERA and allowed nine hits. He has shown excellent control by only walking three batters and limiting the damage when runners reach. On Friday night against a Padres lineup full of stars, he again put his team in a position to win.
The 2010 draftee struck out five Padres batters, increasing his total on the season to 14. Paxton’s velocity consistently reached the high nineties, and his last pitch of the night was 97 mph. He kept one of the most dangerous lineups in baseball off balance despite not having the sharpest control.
His start impressed Alex Cora who in his postgame interview on NESN highlighted his veteran’s performance.
“I think as far as command it was a little bit off, but velocity was good,” Cora said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “He threw a few changeups in certain spots, and this is what you’re going to get every five days.”
While his sample size is small, Paxton is showing encouraging signs. Opponents are hitting .220 against him, and holding the Padres to one run is no easy task. The Red Sox showed their trust in Paxton by letting him reach the 100-pitch mark against San Diego, and he delivered.
Additionally, Paxton has reached a few milestones over the last few weeks. He earned his first win of the season on Friday, which was Paxton’s win in the majors since August 15th, 2020. The Red Sox are hoping that is just one of many.
Although the Red Sox rotation entered the season full of question marks, Paxton is providing some answers in his return and providing excitement for what lies ahead this summer.
Follow Jamie on Twitter @JamieGatlin17
For additional Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, MLB and NFL content follow Beyond the Monster on Twitter @BeyondtheMnstr.
Join our new Facebook group for all of our latest content, click the link here.
