McAdam: There are signs that Nathan Eovaldi has, finally, turned the corner

Chris Sale remains unavailable, rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, and to the best of our knowledge, yet to so much as throw off the mound. It seems certain that we won't see him until, conservatively, after the All-Star break, and how effective he'll be even then is uncertain.

Martin Perez is a serviceable back-end option, but probably little more. Garrett Richards has rebounded from his disastrous first start of the season, but his track record warns against counting on for too much for too long. Tanner Houck is full of promise, but for now, is a work in progress at the alternate site, available only for spot starts

Eduardo Rodriguez? He's seemingly recovered from his Lost Season and has the potential to lead the rotation, but his missing year, coupled with a dead arm alert at the end of spring training brings with it an abundance of caution.

That leaves, for better or worse, Nathan Eovaldi as the presumptive leader of the Red Sox rotation.

In his first two full seasons with the Sox, Eovaldi has been a tease -- possessor of great stuff, yes, but whose results never seem to match expectations. And there's the never-ending question about his durability -- he's had stints on the DL/IL in each of the past four seasons.

But there are early signs, some of them on display in Fenway's annual Patriots' Day matinee, that Eovaldi may be ready to assume the mantle of staff ace.



The pitching line -- 6.1 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 10 K -- may not look like the most dominant you'll ever see, but that was largely because Eovaldi was gifted a humongous lead early (6-1 after 1, 8-1 after two innings) and was largely pitching to the scoreboard. Emboldened by the offensive backing he got early, Eovaldi could rear back and throw, without much regard to nibbling or nuance.

But there was more to behold from Eovaldi's outing. There were the 10 strikeouts in just 6.1 innings, fed by the customary high-90s heaters.

And there was something else, too: zero walks. In four starts this season, Eovaldi has thrown 23.1 innings, and walked a grand total of four hitters. For the most part, the days of Eovaldi laboring through eight- and nine-pitch at-bats and countless foul balls, unable to put a hitter away, are over.

Eovaldi is more aggressive in his approach, and it shows. He hasn't allowed a walk to the last 51 batters he's faced, going back three starts. And he's yet to allow a homer this season. In fact, dating back to the final month of 2020, Eovaldi is 6-1 with a 2.01 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP over his last eight starts.

"When we got this guy in '18, this is what we envisioned -- a guy who was attacking the zone,'' said Alex Cora. "Last year, I saw him. He's a guy who kept pounding the strike zone with everything. He keeps doing that this year. He preaches that. He's one of the guys who's very vocal about pounding the strike zone with good stuff. He's been amazing. We're very pleased with the way he's throwing the ball.''

If there's been a criticism of Eovaldi in the past, it's been his insistence on throwing too many kinds of pitches, with a four-seamer, a cutter, a slider, cutter, splitter and curveball all part of his repertoire. This year, he seems to have narrowed his arsenal somewhat, focusing on three pitches more regularly and gaining consistency.

With shorter at-bats, he's also made it a point to work quickly, taking less time between pitches and maintaining a good rhythm on the mound, which makes for a more prepared defense behind him.

It helps that Eovaldi has been the beneficiary of strong offensive support in two of his four starts. That lends itself to a more direct approach on the mound. Eovaldi's stuff is quality, so there's little risk in him challenging hitters, especially when he's already armed with a sizable lead.

"It's my job to try to go out there and get the guys back in the dugout as fast as possible,'' said Eovaldi. "I don't want (Red Sox defenders) standing around in the infield or outfield, waiting for me to attack the zone. I'm not worried about giving up runs; I'm worried about (getting my guys) hitting again.''

But lead or no lead, Eovaldi is focused like never before on throwing first-pitch strikes, maintaining control of the count and plunging ahead with an aggressive mindset.

"If I'm not striking guys out,'' he said, "then hopefully, I'm at least getting quick outs and going deep into the ballgame. That's been my main focus -- make them earn their way onto the basepaths.''

Four starts serve only as a snapshot. Even the last eight, dating back to last September, aren't enough sample size to suggest definitely that, at 31, in his 10th major league season, something has permanently clicked for Eovaldi.

But the absurdly low walk rate, the more aggressive philosophy and the narrowing of his pitch mix suggests that this is a different pitcher than he's been, one the Sox might -- health willing, of course -- be able to rely on as their No. 1.