McAdam: Nathan Eovaldi and Sandy Leon quickly form dynamic duo for Red Sox

It can take weeks, sometimes half a season or longer, for pitchers and catchers to develop a good relationship, where the former trusts the latter and the latter earns the confidence of the former.

This kind of immediate jelling of two new teammates usually doesn't take place overnight.

Usually, that is.

Nathan Eovaldi and Sandy Leon are proving to be the exception to the rule.

Eovaldi has made two starts for the Red Sox since they acquired him from the Tampa Bay Rays and hasn't allowed a run yet across 15 innings. Some of that, certainly, is attributable to Eovaldi's aggressive approach, his high-90s fastball and the continued development of his cutter.

But much of it -- everyone agrees -- is due to how quickly Eovaldi and Leon have bonded. It began immediately when, with Leon scheduled for a night off, volunteered to catch Eovaldi's first bullpen. And it's grown, exponentially, from there.

"There's a tremendous relationship between (Eovaldi) and Sandy behind the plate,'' pitching coach Dana LeVangie told BostonSportsJournal.com. "It's a lot of fun to watch.''

The Sox did a lot of homework on Eovaldi, looking at video from his starts with the Rays and breaking down the numbers.

"We wanted to make sure that carried through here,'' explained LeVangie, "so we introduced numbers and pitch usage and brought that to Sandy's attention. But we also had Nate talk to Sandy about this. And after his first bullpen, which Sandy caught, they talked about things and how his stuff works and why he's had success. That's Sandy. He buys into what a guy can do on the mound. He's going to put that guy in the most comfortable situation all the time.''



Eovaldi, for all his talent (Alex Cora said after Saturday's 4-1 win victory over the Yankees that Eovaldi's stuff is "some of the best in the big leagues''), is well-traveled. He's worked with more catchers than he could probably remember. But after two short weeks with the Red Sox, he can already sense his relationship with Leon is unique.

"I feel like a lot of the credit has to go to him,'' Eovaldi told BSJ, "for really (teaching) me so fast. From the first day I got here, he was out here, ready to catch my bullpen. A lot of catchers, especially when they get an off-day, especially at this point of the season, they want to take the day off. But he was out there, willing to see my stuff. We were talking the first day about how I like to attack hitters and things of that nature.

"I feel like he's just done an exceptional job using my strengths to my advantage and also, me trusting him on certain pitchers on what he wants to do.''

Eovaldi began experiencing a career turnaround this year after coming back from Tommy John surgery and featuring his cut fastball more frequently. That continues to be a key pitch for him, but Leon has also unlocked Eovaldi's curveball on occasion, giving him another weapon with which to attack hitters.

"When I was with the Rays,'' recalled Eovaldi of the curve, "I had it. I was trying to use it, but I feel like they were times when maybe I wasn't using it in the best counts. Over here, in my first game, I think I used it five or six times. (Saturday), I think I used with (Greg) Bird. (Leon's) made sure I threw it in good counts and not in any damage situations. That, and little bit more of the cutter in certain counts as well.''



Leon has encouraged Eovaldi to be more aggressive early in counts, getting ahead of hitters, then opening up the plate to more options.

"It's like he's in my head at times,'' said Eovaldi of his batterymate, "and other times, he'll put down a sign and I'll think, 'OK, I see why he wants to do that.' You don't really see him thinking too much back there. It's like he knows what he wants to do right away. It's been a lot of fun working with him so far.''

It's hard to argue with the results. It's been better than 50 years since a Red Sox starter began his career with a scoreless streak like this -- Billy Rohr, who famously came within an out of no-hitting the Yankees in his first major-league start in 1967, is the last Red Sox pitcher to string together these many shutout innings. Rohr got his streak to 16 innings.

He's allowed just seven hits combined in his two starts. The way he's jelled with Leon is a big reason for the success.

"It's unique,'' acknowledges LeVangie of the rapport that's been established so quickly. "But I think we have one of the best behind the plate for us right now, catching the brunt (of the games). It matters most what happens (to the staff), it matters most the outcome of the game more than anything else. He's bought into that and every pitcher on our team, every pitcher in the organization sees that, and they know right away that this guy's all about (whoever) is on the mound. And that's what makes it work.''