Corey Kluber has put the Red Sox in a really tough place.
Signed in large part for his track record of limiting walks, the two-time Cy Young Award winner’s command appears to have completely abandoned him. The 37-year-old has been walking batters at an alarming rate all season, and Sunday he was flat out uncompetitive in Boston’s 7-0 loss to the San Diego Padres.
“Frustrating for me, frustrating for everybody, just doing a poor job of finding the correct adjustment to make,” Kluber said. “Trying different stuff to get it done when I’m out there and not being able to do it.”
Right from the jump it was clear Kluber didn’t have it. The righty walked the leadoff batter, booted a routine chopper to the mound for an error and then walked Xander Bogaerts to load the bases with no outs. He then walked Matt Carpenter to drive in a run, but while he was almost able to escape the jam, Rougned Odor ultimately punished him with a back-breaking three-run, bases-clearing double.
By the time all was said and done, Kluber made it only 2.1 innings and allowed five runs (one earned, thanks to his own error) in what amounted to his latest dud in a season full of them.
Alex Cora said Kluber will make his next start on Sunday against Arizona, but if things don’t improve it’s getting to the point where you have to wonder what the Red Sox are supposed to do with him.
Kluber already had one of the slowest fastballs in the game but was a guy who relied on his experience and guile to get hitters out. As recently as last year he boasted baseball’s best walk rate among all starting pitchers, walking only 21 batters over 164 innings.
But with his three walks Sunday Kluber has now walked 18 batters over 41.2 innings through just nine starts this season. His ERA stands at 6.26.
The Red Sox already face a rotation crunch with Garrett Whitlock likely to be activated in the coming days — he threw 4.2 scoreless innings for Worcester in likely his last rehab start Sunday — but if Kluber is ultimately the odd man out does he make sense in the bullpen either? High 80s with sporadic command isn’t usually a recipe for late-inning success, so from that perspective Tanner Houck would be the more appealing option given his superior stuff and proven track record in the role.
Cora indicated at least for the next week the club will shift back to a six-man rotation for another turn, but beyond that everything is still up in the air and sooner or later something is going to have to give.
When that time comes the Red Sox are going to have to decide if they believe Kluber has enough in the tank to turn things around, no matter his role.
If not, then Kluber’s time in Boston could prove shorter than anticipated.
While Kluber struggled to find the plate, former Red Sox starter Michael Wacha delivered a gem to help the Padres salvage the series finale.
Wacha pitched six scoreless innings, allowing five hits and a walk while striking out four in his latest standout performance. Wacha’s ERA is now down to 3.58 on the season and since the start of May he has posted four consecutive quality starts.
The Padres signed Wacha this past offseason on a complex deal that guarantees him $26 million over four years and could be worth as much as $39 million over three. The Red Sox passed on signing Wacha and Nathan Eovaldi to multi-year deals, instead opting to sign Kluber to a one-year, $10 million contract with a club option for 2024.
Though Boston’s bats were largely quiet, Raimel Tapia and Masataka Yoshida both enjoyed strong days at the plate, each going 2 for 3 with a walk. Reese McGuire also had two hits and Enmanuel Valdez was removed from the game early for precautionary reasons.
In addition to Odor’s three-run double, the Padres also got a two-run home run by Matt Carpenter off Sox lefty Richard Bleier in the third, and Odor added another RBI double off Nick Pivetta in the sixth. Pivetta threw 2.1 innings in his first appearance out of the bullpen, and Joely Rodriguez and Justin Garza both posted scoreless innings to finish things out.
Boston (26-21) now heads up I-5 to begin its three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels. Tanner Houck (3-3, 5.48 ERA) is slated to get the ball against Chase Silseth (0-1, 5.40) in Monday’s opener, with first pitch scheduled for 9:38 p.m. ET.