Richard Fitts returned to the Boston Red Sox rotation last week after a nearly two-month hiatus due to injury. He pitched three scoreless innings against the Milwaukee Brewers, which felt like a positive sign. His second start post-injury did not go so well.
Fitts took the mound on Monday night in Boston, tasked with a struggling Los Angeles Angels lineup. Those struggles did not hold, as the Angels detonated for six runs (five earned) on four hits and a walk in the first inning, including this majestic Mike Trout home run.
Uh, 454 feet... that's a lot of feet.
Richard Fitts' struggled forced Alex Cora into an early bullpen move
Trout is a great hitter, but Fitts just did not bring his best stuff on Monday. The game got out of hand quickly, but rather than pushing through a few more innings to conserve the bullpen in what felt like an immediate losing effort, Alex Cora went straight to the bullpen in the second.
To his credit, Hunter Dobbins has thrown four straight scoreless innings in relief as of this writing, but the Red Sox really did not need to put further stress on a bullpen that has been aching in recent days for Boston.
Alex Cora has understandably caught some heat — both for this game and everything leading up to it as Boston's season slips away.
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Alex Cora's mismanagement puts Red Sox bullpen in impossible spots
This has been an ongoing theme for Cora in recent weeks. This Red Sox rotation, and subsequently the bullpen, has been entirely out of whack due to injuries. That is largely outside his control, but how Boston deploys its bullpen in these trying times will impact how relievers perform over the second half of the season.
Boston can't really afford to waste bullet right now, and while the chance to come back and win this series opener against a vulnerable Angels team is appealing, one could — quite credibly — argue that Cora should just swallow the risk and let Fitts eat a few more innings to avoid overdoing it on the bullpen front.
Red Sox fans aren't letting Cora off the hook
It's clear a good chunk of the fanbase feels this way.
While the bullpen strategy worked in this game, it could age poorly as relievers (like Dobbins) accumulate innings and stress over the course of the season. Nothing is ever guaranteed in baseball, but we know leaning on bullpens early in the season and lead to horrific collapses late. It's a story as old as time.
Boston is stuck in an uncomfortable position, and it's clear Cora is under tremendous pressure to win games and get this train back on the rails before the whole campaign goes bust. Pressure can lead to foolish, shortsighted decisions, however. Here's to hoping this doesn't backfire down the line.