Cubs thrown for a curve against Pomeranz

BOSTON -- When Kris Bryant tattooed Drew Pomeranz's seventh pitch of the night for a titanic homer over the Green Monster, it was a reminder for Boston's lefty starter that the best way to beat the Cubs would be to keep them off-balance with his signature knuckle curve.
Bryant's solo homer, which Statcast™ registered with a projected distance of 449 feet, came off a 92.8-mph fastball.
From there, Pomeranz went soft in a big way, and he came through with an important 5-4 win by the Red Sox in Friday night's opener of a much-anticipated three-game series against the defending World Series champion Cubs.
Of the 95 pitches Pomeranz threw over his six-inning performance, a whopping 58 were curveballs. That was a career high for the lefty, who had twice thrown 53 curves in a start.
"I guess it wasn't the gameplan going in, but I faced these guys last year and had a lot of success with my curveball against them," said Pomeranz. "As the game went along, they weren't putting the bat on it, so I just kept throwing it."
The only other damaging hit the Cubs had off Pomeranz was a solo homer by Albert Almora Jr. on a 1-0 fastball to open the top of the third. With his curve-happy approach, Pomeranz (2-1, 4.15 ERA) scattered six hits and two runs, walking two and striking out seven.
After an error by Mitch Moreland in the sixth, Pomeranz was in some trouble, with two on and one out. But he struck out Jason Heyward on a wicked curve and ended his night when Javier Báez pounded his grounder to third for a routine out.
"Their guy Pomeranz had a really good breaking ball," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "Jason [Heyward] had a hard time with him, too."
Heyward accounted for three of Pomeranz's seven K's.
"They have great hitters," said Red Sox catcher Christian Vázquez. "That's the best pitch for him and that's the plan: Tried to go with the curveball and he did it."
With Chris Sale and Rick Porcello both not pitching in this series for the Red Sox, it was important for Pomeranz to open with a strong performance.
While pitching for the Padres, Pomeranz had an even better outing against the Cubs last season, firing six shutout innings and striking out 10.
"This was great," Pomeranz said after Friday's win. "A lot of history between these two teams. A lot of people were excited about getting in here. It's fun for us. We're just happy to get that first win."