Fastball

Boston Red Sox' Starter Ties Roger Clemens in Incredible Franchise History Thursday

The Boston Red fell to under .500 with a loss against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday night but starting pitcher Nick Pivetta tied a longstanding record in team history with his start to the game.

Brady Farkas

May 30, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Nick Pivetta (37) pitches against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
May 30, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Nick Pivetta (37) pitches against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
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The Boston Red Sox lost to the Detroit Tigers on Thursday night, 5-0, at Fenway Park. The loss dropped the Red Sox to 28-29 on the season while the win moved Detroit back to .500 at 28-28.

Despite taking the loss on the mound, Red Sox' starter Nick Pivetta turned in a solid performance, striking out nine batters over 5.1 innings. He allowed just two earned runs on three hits.

Furthermore, he also tied a longstanding record in team history, according to @MLB on "X:"

Nick Pivetta ties a @RedSox franchise record with eight consecutive strikeouts.

Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald had more context on social media:

Nick Pivetta just tied Roger Clemens' record 8 consecutive strikeouts.

Any time you can put yourself in the conversation with Clemens, you've done something right. He's one of the best pitchers in franchise history and would be in the Baseball Hall of Fame already if not for his connection to the Steroid Era of the sport.

Pivetta is now 2-4 on the season with a 4.08 ERA. He missed some time on the injured list because of an elbow injury and only has seven starts under his belt, but he's been excellent at missing bats. He's fanned 42 batters in 35.1 innings this year.

He'll also be an interesting test case at the trade deadline. The Red Sox likely aren't to win the American League East given the strength of New York and Baltimore, but they can likely hang around the wild card discussion. If they do that, will they add to the roster? Or could they look to trade Pivetta, who is in the final year of his rookie contract?

The Red Sox play the Tigers again on Friday night at 7:10 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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