Boston Red Sox left-hander James Paxton was brutally honest about his performance in his team's 7-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night.
Paxton allowed five runs over three innings, leading to a sweep-clinching win in Anaheim. This gave the 34-year old his first loss in two years. Paxton struggled to hit his spots consistently, walking three batters and giving up a pair of home runs to LA.
“I wasn't sharp. I was falling behind, making mistakes in the middle of the plate and they made me pay for it,” Paxton said postgame, as seen on NESN's postgame coverage.
“The command wasn't great. I wasn't able to keep the ball where I wanted to throw it. I was just missing both sides of the plate and leaving the ball up for them.”
It was the first sign of trouble for Paxton this season, but those struggles were rooted in miscommunications in command, according to Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora.
“The stuff was okay, it's just that the command was off,” Cora said. “The first inning was electric. Then he walks Hunter [Renfroe] on four pitches, we get two outs…I think that was it, it was the command. I think the stuff was good.”
The Red Sox are currently in fourth place in the American League East, 9.5 games behind the first-place Rays. The Red Sox need Paxton to be a key part of their rotation if they want to make a run at the playoffs.
Whether it's Paxton himself or the command, the Red Sox need to figure it out. The Red Sox need their starting pitchers to start pitching better if they want to turn their season around. Paxton is a key part of their rotation and he needs to start pitching like the ace that he was when he was with the Seattle Mariners.
The Red Sox will get an off day on Thursday, perhaps setting James Paxton up for similar success to that of his first two starts, as both of which came with at least five days of rest.
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