Opening Day is less than two weeks away, and the Boston Red Sox’s starting rotation is beginning to take shape.
Boston’s pitching has been surprisingly good this spring, given the circumstances surrounding the team. But that also means one rough performance could take someone out of the running for a starting job.
Josh Winckowski may be out of contention after his March 14 start against the Phillies.
Winckowski started off strong in the first inning — a lineout, a flyout and a
defense after just seven pitches. In the second frame, things fell apart for the pitcher.
Winckowski and the Sox let up four runs on five hits, and a throwing error by Triston Casas at first base allowed the inning to run longer than it needed to. The Red Sox kept Winckowski in for the third inning and he got out unscathed, so they sent him out for a fourth frame.
After logging two outs to start the inning, two straight doubles ended Winckowski’s outing on a sour note. Thursday’s was his roughest outing of spring so far — he let up five earned on eight hits and a free pass in 3.2 innings. Winckowski fanned two batters and didn’t let up any long balls, but he got knocked around by Philly’s tenacious offense.
It’s unfortunate that one less-than-stellar performance could take Winckowski out of the running for a starting job, but Tanner Houck and Cooper Criswell have both been pitching well enough to potentially earn spots for themselves.
