Drew Pomeranz was brought to Boston in July to replace Clay Buchholz -- who’d hit rock bottom at the time -- in the starting rotation.
But Buchholz has managed to earn back a starting role . . . and now it seems clear that he, and not Pomeranz, should be one of the Red Sox' four starting pitchers in the playoffs.
Since Buchholz pretty much became a regular again on August 18, he’s made five starts, logging 28 innings and posting a 3.54 ERA -- with only one really bad outing (September 11 at Toronto).
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In that same time frame, Pomeranz has a 5.28 ERA over 29 innings in five starts.
Not to mention, Pomeranz has plenty of experience as a reliever. Plus he’s nearly doubled his career-high in innings, 96 2/3 in 2012 to 164 1/3 this year. So one would think fatigue’s setting in, right?
“I feel strong, I feel good,” Pomeranz said following his 3 2/3-inning outing Sunday. “I’m just not making pitches the way I need to.
Boston Red Sox
“I’m feeling fine. It’s late in the year. It’s just small misses here and there, just a few things.”
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Pretty much the same ole song and dance Red Sox starters have given this year when they’ve struggled. But for Pomeranz to say he’s not fatigued should make John Farrell’s job a lot easier come time to draw up the rotation -- Buchholz in, Pomeranz out.
Buchholz has been the better pitcher, there’s no question. If nothing else consider this: in his last five starts, the Red Sox have only lost one of his starts -- in which he gave up one run over six innings. The Red Sox have only won two of Pomeranz’s last five.
“Hadn’t gotten that far yet,” Buchholz told CSN when asked about making the postseason starting rotation. “We’ve still got some games to play and we’ve got to obviously keep playing well. I’m going one game at a time, one start at a time and go from there.”
As much as he used the “one game at a time” cliché, that approach has clearly paid dividends for Buchholz lately. He’s been calm under pressure, bounced back from bad start and seems in a good place mentally and physically.
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So much that when he was asked about going to the bullpen for the postseason he didn’t hesitate with his answer.
“Yeah I’m sure that we’ll sit down and talk about when that time comes,” Buchholz said. “I’m ready to whatever we need for us to be a better team.”
He’s getting results, giving all the right answers and has a clear mind. Both pitchers have a few starts left, but it seems they’ve both done their part to put this debate to rest.
Nick Friar can be followed on Twitter @ngfriar.