A leadoff home run off the bat of Jose Altuve gave the Houston Astros an early lead against the Red Sox on Wednesday night in Boston.
It was a tough start for Victoria-born pitcher Nick Pivetta, but one that met an immediate response. Pivetta followed the 10-pitch at-bat with Altuve by retiring 18 Astros hitters in a row en route to throwing Boston’s first complete game since 2019.
The 29-year-old Pivetta allowed just two hits in Boston’s 5-1 win. Along with the offensive support from his Red Sox squad, Pivetta credited his array of breaking balls as they helped all but silence the Astros’ bats after the opening homer.
“I just feel like I had all of my pitches working, it was just one of those nights,” Pivetta said postgame before teammates showered him with the water cooler’s icy remnants.
Came through drippin'. pic.twitter.com/a52BD6AJXk
— Red Sox (@RedSox) May 19, 2022
The Vancouver Island native had eight strikeouts and walked none in just the fourth complete game of this Major League Baseball season.
After a slow start to the season, Pivetta has been getting better with each trip to the mound in May – with his two wins coming in the last week.
“He had that look, he had it,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of his starter. “He did an outstanding job.”
“That was fun to watch.”
Pivetta is 2-4 on the year with a 4.22 ERA and 41 strikeouts through eight games.
READ: Victoria-born pitcher helps propel Red Sox into Monday potential series-clincher
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