With his future playing role uncertain, Pivetta recognizes that his start against the Rays could be the end of an important chapter in his life.

As a child, Pivetta fell in love with Fenway while watching games on television. Manny Ramirez’s home run against Francisco Rodriguez in the 2007 ALDS is one of his earliest baseball memories.

Pivetta settling into the home clubhouse at Fenway is “very surreal and very cool,” he said. And I just enjoyed every single moment.”

Pivetta doesn’t want to let the emotions consume him, but he wants to take advantage of the opportunity to take the mound once again – his 131st regular-season appearance for the Sox and his 107th start – at his current home.

“I think there will be a little more emphasis on it, a little more focus,” he said. “A lot of emotions will arise afterwards. More importantly, in my opinion, there are still games to play and games to win. I think I just have to focus on that.”

While Pivetta hopes to keep most of his thoughts on Friday’s game, he made a point to appreciate what the last four years have meant to him.

His career was at a crossroads when he made his Red Sox debut at Fenway Park four years ago.

Once hailed as a cornerstone of the Phillies’ rotation, he was released from it and then sent to the minors in 2020, where he was considered a “change of scenery” candidate whose ability to thrive under the control of a big market was in great doubt .

The Sox acquired him (along with Connor Seabold, now playing in Korea) in a deadline deal for backups Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree. After a month at the team’s alt site in Pawtucket, Pivetta made his Sox debut during the final week of the 2020 season.

From 2021 onwards, Pivetta developed into a mainstay of the staff. His 104 starts since the start of the 2021 season are 35 more than any other Sox pitcher. His 616⅓ innings pitched surpassed any of his teammates by more than 200 innings during that time.

His performance has been uneven, but overall it’s solid: an ERA of 4.35 and an ERA+ of 102, with signs of both dominance (a 27 percent strikeout rate) and vulnerability (102 home runs, tied for fifth in baseball ). He made a major contribution to the 2021 ALCS run, punching the team’s ticket to the playoffs with a strikeout against Juan Soto in the bottom of Game 162 and then powering through an incredible four-inning relief appearance in Game 3 of the ALDS.

How would he characterize what it all meant?

“It’s almost as if there were too many things that could be said and too many things that happened to even portray in a short period of time,” he said. “I think the great development I have experienced in my career is a tribute to the opportunity to wear the Red Sox jerseys and the people the Red Sox organization has surrounded me with.

“There was a little bit of everything. Just being able to put on the uniform and just go out and compete and be given the opportunity and be welcomed, I think is very nice and a very big honor. I’m grateful for that.”

Beyond the number and details of his appearances, Pivetta said he tried to channel and honor the atmosphere at Fenway. A pitcher whose ability to succeed in a demanding baseball market was questioned in Philadelphia enjoyed just such an environment as a member of the Red Sox.

“The bloodline of what it is to be a Red Sox is giving everything you have to this organization and the fan base and putting your heart on the field every time to win a baseball game,” Pivetta said .

And come Friday, he won’t take the opportunity to do that for granted.

Alex Speier can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @alexspeier.