BOSTON — Score one for upside over stability.
Faced with a choice of whether to remove hard-throwing right-hander Joe Kelly or veteran knuckleballer Steven Wright from the rotation, the Red Sox have opted to stick with Kelly, who will take his regular turn Friday night at Fenway Park against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Wright moved to the bullpen, and he wound up earning the win Sunday in Boston’s come-from-behind, sweep-completing 7-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
“Both have pitched probably well enough to either remain in the rotation or to earn a rotation spot,” manager John Farrell said. “But when you set aside a couple of the bumps that Joe Kelly has had of late — one in Minnesota — he’s got the ability to be a dominant starter. (Saturday) was a glimpse of that. There have been other outings where he’s pitched to that capability. Feel like we’re going to stay the course with him in our rotation.”
The Red Sox used six starters for the past two turns through the rotation because of a stretch of 20 games in 20 days that ended Sunday. The emergence of 22-year-old lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, called up recently from Triple-A Pawtucket, forced them to make a move with either Kelly or Wright.
Kelly literally has been hit-or-miss this season, but the 26-year-old is pitching better of late. After allowing 21 earned runs in a span of four starts, Kelly bounced back with some better fastball location, sacrificing some velocity to get there. Over his past five starts, he struck out 18 while walking nine and posting a 4.15 ERA over 26 innings.
“Putting the ball where I want to most of the time — obviously every time is impossible — but it definitely starts there and is something I’ve been trying to work on in my bullpens and playing catch,” Kelly said. “Just have to (stay through) that process.”
Wright, who has a 4.01 ERA in six starts this season, had no problem with the team’s decision to move him to the ‘pen.
“As long as I’m here, I’m happy,” he said. “I know (former Red Sox outfielder) Jim Rice said the other day, ‘As long as I’m on the plane and not a bus, I’m happy.’ But it honestly is that simple for me because I know my role. …
“You got guys like Joe, who’s nasty; you’ve got (Justin) Masterson, when he comes back, he’s going to be good; you’ve got (Clay Buchholz), obviously. It’s like, you’ve got these guys that have earned the right in their spot. Me, I just want to hold it down as long as I can if it is my job to do that. If I go in the ‘pen, hey, I’m still in the big leagues, man. What else do you want?”
Wright showed Sunday he can be effective as a long reliever, throwing 3 1/3 scoreless innings. He allowed one hit and one walk while striking out two.