Boston Red Sox Veteran Nick Pivetta Strikes Out 10, Makes Canadian History

Nick Pivetta racked up 10 strikeouts in the Boston Red Sox's win over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday, moving up the leaderboards among Canadian-born MLB pitchers.

Jul 29, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Nick Pivetta (37) pitches against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at Fenway Park. / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

While the Boston Red Sox's lineup piled up the runs against the Seattle Mariners on Monday night, it was starting pitcher Nick Pivetta who carved out a spot in the history books.

Pivetta sat the Mariners down in order in the first two frames, then forced an inning-ending double to keep Seattle off the board in the top of the third as well. That's when the Red Sox gave the veteran all the run support he needed, racked up seven runs in the bottom of the third.

Although Pivetta gave up a sacrifice fly the following inning, he still kept the Mariners at bay by forcing whiffs and painting corners.

Pivetta struck out two in the first, one in the second, one in the third, on in the fourth and two in the fifth. Seattle finally got to the righty with back-to-back homers in the sixth, but he still added two more strikeouts that inning.

Just before he got the hook in the top of the seventh, Pivetta struck out left fielder Jason Vosler swinging, giving him 10 Ks on the day. Boston led 14-3 at the time.

It marked the 16th double-digit strikeout performance on Pivetta's career. According to TSN's StatsCentre, that ties him for the third-most in MLB history by a Canadian-born pitcher.

Fergie Jenkins owns the Canadian record with 48 such games. James Paxton ranks second with 17, while Ryan Dempster and Erik Bedard are tied for third with Pivetta.

Most career double digit strikeout games - Canadian born pitcher in MLB history:
48- Fergie Jenkins
17- James Paxton
16- Nick Pivetta (Via ringing up 10 in tonight's 14-7 @RedSox win vs the Mariners)
16- Ryan Dempster
16- Erik Bedard
12- Rich Harden
6- Kirk McCaskill
5- Russ Ford pic.twitter.com/zwY8jxbb2L

— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) July 30, 2024

The entire top five has pitched for the Red Sox at one point or another – Jenkins in 1976 and 1977, Bedard in 2011 and Dempster in 2013. Paxton, meanwhile, pitched in Boston in 2023 and just reunited with the club via a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.

Pivetta wound up going 6.2 innings deep on Monday, allowing six hits, one walk and three earned runs. The 31-year-old pending free agent is now 5-7 with a 4.47 ERA, 1.169 WHIP and 1.2 WAR through 17 starts this season.

The Red Sox and Mariners resume their series Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. ET. Paxton will take the mound, looking to grab the torch from his fellow Canadian.

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