The Boston Red Sox are in the midst of their toughest schedule yet in the 2024 season.
With the Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros and Arizona Diamondbacks as opponents, the Red Sox have only current playoff teams to play this week and next. At 63-57 and 2.5 games out of the Wild Card, this could be the stretch that makes or breaks the Red Sox’s season.
When you know you have a lot of work ahead of you, it’s good to know which pitchers you’ll be facing. On Friday, the Red Sox received some important information about the Orioles’ pitching plan for the weekend, and the news came as quite a surprise.
Left-handed hitters have been the Red Sox’s kryptonite all season, and on Saturday they’ll face another opponent in Baltimore. But that left-hander hasn’t pitched in the major leagues in over a month.
According to Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun, the Orioles are bringing Povich back from Triple-A Norfolk and plan to use him in Saturday’s game. The team has not yet announced a move.
Povich, 24, made his debut in Baltimore earlier this season and started eight games as a pitcher. He went 1-5 with a 6.27 ERA, allowing 40 hits and 23 walks in just 37 1/3 innings. He was demoted to Triple-A on July 13.
Facing a rookie who has struggled could be a plus for Boston’s offense, but anyone who throws left-handed has outperformed the Red Sox all season. Boston’s .732 OPS against lefties is nearly 50 points lower than against righties.
Whatever problem the Red Sox have with left-handed pitching, they would do well to solve it quickly. On Sunday they will face another left-hander in Baltimore’s Trevor Rogers, and each loss hurts more than the last at this critical moment in their season.
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