Nick Pivetta says MLB's pitch clock is "too fast"

BOSTON  -- Nick Pivetta continued his strong start for the Red Sox, tossing five shutout innings in Boston's 1-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night. But the Red Sox pitcher still wasn't happy after shutting down baseball's best offense.

That's because Pivetta is not a big fan of MLB's new pitch clock. His critique of the new rule is a simple one.

"I think the pitch clock has been too fast," Pivetta told reporters Monday night. "I think with how the game is going, the game is going quick, but I think there's times where pitchers need to be able to slow down."

The pace didn't seem to bother Pivetta on Monday, as he allowed just three hits and struck out six against baseball's highest-scoring offense. The Rays ultimately improved to 10-0 on the season, with Brandon Lowe hitting a solo homer for Tampa in the bottom of the eighth off Boston reliever Chris Martin.

Pivetta has been solid to start the season, allowing just one earned run over his 10 innings of work. He has yet to be hit with a pitch clock violation under MLB's new rules.

While Pivetta may not be a fan of the new clock, it is certainly making an impact on the pace of play and the length of baseball games. The average game time was down 31 minutes over the first week-and-a-half of the 2023 season. 

Monday night's Red Sox-Rays game was just two hours and six minutes, as the two teams combined for just eight hits.