San Diego – Nick Pivetta admits he will be very excited to face his former team for the first time.
Unfortunately for Pivetta, this excitement worked for him.
Pivetta ran five runs in six innings Friday night at Petco Park when Padres beat the Red Sox 10-2. Pivetta allowed the five runs he had the most in his last 11 games, dating back to June 4 in San Francisco.
“I have a lot of love and respect for those guys out there, so I just want to take my best footsteps and challenge them,” Pivita said. “Obviously, they were able to get better today. I think it's just excitement.”
After five seasons with the Red Sox, Pivetta signed a four-year, $55 million contract with the Padres in the offseason and quickly became their most reliable starter. He entered the night, allowing the least hits per 9 innings in the National League (6.2) and ranked in the top 10 in the Victory and Times, while averaging strikeouts per innings outstrips per inning.
However, the Red Sox is ready. Pivetta allowed five hits, three walks, recording only three strikeouts, making his season very low.
“I think it's a thing,” Pivita said. “…I think they do a great job when you're behind the number, and when you're behind, it's hard to get them to swing and miss it. So, there's no way to execute those tones.”
Things started well enough. Pivetta cruised in the first three innings without allowing a blow. He faced only one batsman to a minimum and had another dominant start on the way to a season.
The wheels then fell off with a four-quarter 4-pointer.
Pivetta allowed Alex Bregman to lead singles and walked back-to-back in the stories of Jarren Duran and Trevor to load the base without any chance to open the situation.
The Red Sox is happy to take advantage of the opportunity.
Masataka Yoshida lifted the sacrificial fly, took Bregman home and opened the score. Two goals later, Pivetta exacerbated his problem by throwing away a tackle, allowing Duran to run home with a wrong score.
Pivetta was obviously frustrated, and he continued to fall behind Wilyer Abreu and then hung a 2-1 curve ball, Abreu drove the statcast's 423-foot statcast Proopthop into the right center field, representing a two-run home run.
It marks the first time that Pivetta has allowed four or more times in one inning this season. He was allowed to run four times in just four times throughout the season.
“The first three [innings]Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “Fourth, he just lost a little.”
Pivetta allowed to run again in the fifth inning before completing six innings.
“I mean, I've suffered some injuries,” Pivita said. “I walked around and didn't find the court and got them back into the abs. Like I said, they really performed on the court I missed.”
It was Padres who had the opportunity to turn the page quickly. Opening day starter Michael King will stand out on Saturday and will start for the first time in nearly three months.
It was a very welcome reward for Padres, who was trying to chase the Western League.
“It's a wonderful day for Michael to return to the mound,” said Hilt. “Today stay away from our non-featured games. We haven't played a lot of games at all, so we'll be ready to go tomorrow.”