Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta tosses a gem against Rangers on Friday

He pitched to contact in the game, needing just 85 pitches to get through his seven innings on the day. His four strikeouts were low for a power pitcher who can get swings and misses frequently.

However, going back to the contact, Pivetta induced six groundouts on the day and had three six-pitch or more at-bats on the night.

Pivetta mainly used his fastball, throwing it 46 percent of the time. He sat around 93 while touching just above 94 on the day.

His knuckle curve was the most effective pitch of the four he used on Friday, getting nine called strikes and three swing-and-misses among the 27 he threw.

Right now, the Red Sox have struggled when it comes to consistent starting pitching, so to have one of their cornerstones last season in Pivetta pitching well is a great sign moving forward.

Having given up just one earned run over his last 13 innings of work, Pivetta looks to be getting into a groove, which will be key for him. 

Last season, Pivetta had one similar stretch to this most recent run of form between two starts in early August, where he gave up one earned runs and four hits over 12 innings.

The Red Sox have two more games in Arlington to finish up the series before welcoming the Houston Astros to Fenway Park on Monday.