Alex Cora announces Red Sox starting rotation to begin 2023 season
BOSTON -- With Opening Day less than a week away, we now know the starting rotation that Red Sox manager Alex Cora will roll with to begin the 2023 season.
We already knew that Corey Kluber and Chris Sale would start the first two games of the season, but Cora revealed the rest of his rotation Thursday. It will go as follows:
Corey Kluber, RHP
Chris Sale, LHP
Tanner Houck, RHP
Kutter Crawford, RHP
Nick Pivetta, RHP
Kluber, Sale, and Houck will each start in Boston's opening series against the Orioles at Fenway Park, with Opening Day set for March 30 at 2:10 pm. Crawford and Pivetta will get the ball to start the team's three-game home series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, with Kluber toeing the rubber for the series finale.
Meanwhile, Brayan Bello (forearm), Garrett Whitlock (hip), and James Paxton (hamstring) will each start the year on the IL. That opens a roster spot for right-hander Josh Winckowski, who will start the year out of the bullpen as the team's multi-inning guy.
The 36-year-old Kluber will make his first start for Boston on Opening Day after signing a one-year, $10 million deal with the Red Sox in the offseason. He was 10-10 with a 4.34 ERA with the Rays last season, and the two-time Cy Young winner had a 2.13 ERA over 12.2 innings to go with 14 strikeouts for Boston this spring.
Sale is looking to bounce back from a litany of injuries over the last few years, which has limited him to just 48.1 innings since 2021. He made three starts this spring, allowing six earned runs over 10 innings.
Houck started just four of his 34 appearances for Boston last season, and was 5-4 with a 3.15 ERA over 60 innings pitched. He struggled this spring, sporting an 8.31 ERA over 17.1 innings with six homers allowed, so he could be back in the bullpen when Bello and Whitlock are ready to return in mid-April.
Crawford won a spot in the rotation thanks to his strong spring, with a 2.03 ERA and 14 strikeouts over his four appearances -- including three starts. He made 12 starts as a rookie last season, and posted a 5.47 ERA and 1.422 WHIP over his 77.1 innings of work as a starter and reliever.
And rounding out the rotation is Pivetta, who was Boston's workhorse in 2022 with 33 starts and 179.2 innings pitched. The Red Sox are hoping for a similar workload from Pivetta but better results this season, as he went 10-12 with a 4.56 ERA last season. He was roughed up this spring, sporting a 7.71 ERA over his 11.2 innings after missing time with an illness.