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The Red Soxcloser broke out his new pitch once again yesterday, this time to rave reviews. Papelbon used his newly discovered cut-fastball to freeze the Tampa Bay Devils Rays’ Brendan Harris for a game-ending, called third strike.
“It’s really exciting to learn a new pitch, take it out there, and see what hitters do with it,” said Papelbon after recording his 20th save in a 7-5 Sox victory.
The cutter - a fastball with the pressure put on the middle finger to make the ball break into left-handed batters and away from righties like Harris - was first used by Papelbon during an interleague series with Arizona last month.

The closer hadn’t been happy with either his slider or curveball, so he took the advice of bullpen coach Gary Tuck and pitching coach John Farrell and went to the cutter. Tuck’s experience with the pitch was invaluable considering the time he spent coaching New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, widely considered to have the best cut-fastball in the history of the game.
“I’ve been working on that the last couple of weeks,” said Papelbon, who threw the cutter for three of his nine pitches yesterday. “I’m finally getting it out and throwing it a lot in games. Occasionally some will back up on me and not do what I want, but I’ve got to go out there and throw it in game situations to experience those feelings what it’s like to fail, because the cutter is a pitch you can’t go out there and throw 100 mph.
“I have a tendency to do that sometimes, but I’m learning how to back down off of it and let the pitch do its work.”
Papelbon will continue to prioritize his fastball and splitter before committing to the cutter, but so far the offering has been a valued addition.
“I’m just using it as a third pitch to keep them honest and to get the freezes inside to lefties,” he said. “If you’re not making adjustments in this game and not staying ahead of the game, then you’re going to get buried.”



Papelbon cuts loose: Closes out Rays with new pitch - Boston Red Sox - BostonHerald.com