Pomeranz allowed one run on four hits with no walks while striking out five over five innings in Boston's 2-1 win over Tampa Bay on Friday. The left-hander entered Friday's game having pitched a combined 5.2 innings in his previous two starts.
This was Pomeranz's first start in the last six that he didn't issue a walk, but manager John Farrell pulled him after just 78 pitches. The decision to pull him early is most likely a nod to the pitcher already having reached a career high in innings pitched this season. Additionally, Farrell was looking for Pomeranz to command his fastball down in the zone, something he didn't do in his previous two starts and didn't do consistently Friday, particularly on a Mikie Mahtook homer and a couple of line-drive doubles. When Pomeranz managed to get through five innings without any serious damage, the manager went to the bullpen for the final four innings.