BOSTON - Left-hander Wade Miley will fall short of 200 innings in his first season with the Red Sox.
When the Red Sox obtained Wade Miley from Arizona over the winter, it was with the idea that Miley was a proven innings-eater for the Diamondbacks, having reached the 200-inning mark in each of his previous two seasons. And the season before that, his first full year in the big leagues, Miley pitched 194 2/3 innings.
In 27 starts with the Red Sox this season, Miley has throw 159 2/3 innings, or an average of 5.91 innings per start.
With 32 games left on the schedule, Miley could have as many as six starts remaining. If he averaged just under six innings per starts in those outings -- as he's done so far -- that would give Miley somewhere around 196 innings.
But remember, the Red Sox are toying with the idea of going with a six-man rotation next week to limit the season-long worload for younger pitchers such as Henry Owens and Eduardo Rodriguez. It appears as though either Steven Wright or Matt Barnes will be added to the current five man group.
That would leave Miley with a mamximum of five starts over the final 32 games, meaning he would have to average eight innings per starts to reach the 200-inning plateau.
Still, with some quality outings, Miley may be able to reach 190 innings, just shy of what the Sox had hoped.
And though he's been inconsistent at times -- reflected by his 10-10 mark and 4.57 ERA -- it's fair to say that Miley has been pretty much what the Sox expected him to be: a durable back-end starter.