Prior to the start of this 2024 campaign, the argument could've been made that the starting rotation for the Boston Red Sox was among the MLB's most lackluster.
Brayan Bello, the team's Opening Day starter, was entering just his second full season in the big leagues with rather lofty expectations on his shoulders. Nick Pivetta, the team's second in the rotation, bounced back and forth between the bullpen and rotation last season. The final three - Kutter Crawford, Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck - were all starting last year at some point with varying levels of success.
However, the rotation and bullpen have far exceeded expectations through the first two turns leading the Red Sox to a 7-3 start on the West Coast.
Against the Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels, Boston's pitchers posted a 1.49 ERA - the best in the MLB (the Cleveland Guardians recorded a 2.28 through nine games, which was the league's second-best).
In terms of WHIP, Alex Cora's team stands about the rest at 0.96. That's .06 ahead of the Baltimore Orioles, who are in second through nine games.
The Red Sox are also second in the league in strikeouts, recording 105 punch-outs (the Los Angeles Dodgers have the most with 111).
A lot of this can be attributed to the work of new pitching coach Andrew Bailey, who has helped Boston's pitchers limit the usage of their four-seam fastballs and stick to sinkers and off-speed pitches.
It may not have been the most daunting schedule of opponents to this point, but Boston's hurlers have stepped on the mound and done their job, and you can't ask much more than that.
