Nick Pivetta making final start with Red Sox before free agency this winter
Nick Pivetta will potentially make his final start as a member of the Red Sox on Friday night. The right-hander will take the mound at Fenway Park against the Rays.
Pivetta is eligible to become a free agent at the end of the season and told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier that he hasn’t had talks with the club on an extension.
“We’ll allow those talks to kind of pick up as the year finishes and see where we are,” he said. “Things will fall where they fall.”
Pivetta will make his 13th career start against the Rays; he owns a 1-7 record with a 4.67 ERA and 66 strikeouts to 30 walks.
Jarren Duran brings a six-game hitting streak into the series; he is 9-for-25 with three doubles, one triple, two RBI, and four walks. He doubled and scored in the sixth inning on Wednesday in the loss to the Blue Jays.
Tyler O’Neill sits to begin the game on Friday night; the slugger is 0-for-24 with three walks and 1-for-33 in his last 10 games.
Triston Casas will bat third and play first base. The slugger attempted to find a positive aspect in the Red Sox's disappointing summer.
“It was good this year to get our teeth kicked in a little bit,” Casas told reporters following the Red Sox loss to the Blue Jays on Wednesday. “There was high points and low ones. Seemed like the same story as last year, where we were pretty streaky. … Overall, we got to find a way to weather those storms a little bit more and keep those hot streaks going. That’s what good teams do, and we weren’t able to that as many times as the other ones this year.
“We do have a young group. A lot of faces looking around the clubhouse will be here next year, so we’re going to continue to collaborate and keep getting better as a group, and it’s going to take one individual at a time getting better, and the product is going to be on the field, for sure.”
The Red Sox will celebrate Jordan Castiglione during a pregame cermony on Sunday, Sept. 29, in the final game of the season. The ceremonies will include a proclamation from Boston mayor Michelle Wu designating Sept. 29 as “Joe Castiglione Day.”
Key stats and Red Sox lineup
Rays vs. Pivetta: Jonathan Aranda 1-4, José Caballero 0-6, Junior Caminero 1-2, Dylan Carlson 0-2, Jonny DeLuca 1-2, Logan Driscoll 0-2, Yandy Díaz 6-24, Brandon Lowe 4-15, Josh Lowe 2-7, Christopher Morel 0-2, Richie Palacios 0-2, Jose Siri 2-6, Taylor Walls 1-8
Red Sox vs. Bradley: Wilyer Abreu 2-6, Triston Casas 0-3, Jarren Duran 3-8, Danny Jansen 1-3, Tyler O’Neill 0-5, Ceddanne Rafaela 1-4, Enmanuel Valdez 0-2, Connor Wong 1-4, Masataka Yoshida 2-3
Red Sox (80-79) lineup vs. Rays (78-81):
Jarren Duran LF
Trevor Story SS
Triston Casas 1B
Connor Wong C
Masataka Yoshida DH
Vaughn Grissom 2B
Wilyer Abreu RF
Nick Sogard 3B
Ceddanne Rafaela CF
SP: RHP Nick Pivetta (6-11, 4.21 ERA)
The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. and can be seen on NESN, Fubo, and Sling TV, and it can be heard on WEEI 93.7 FM.
