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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 19, 2022 16:50:29 GMT -5
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: Boston Red Sox’s Rafael Devers ‘always swings hard and that’s why he’s so good’ Updated: Apr. 19, 2022, 5:46 p.m. | Published: Apr. 19, 2022, 5:43 p.m.
By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — Flash back to June 14 of last season when Dominican stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Rafael Devers put on a ninth-inning show here at Fenway Park.
Guerrero blasted a 451-foot home run with a 114.7 mph exit velocity over the Green Monster off Matt Barnes to tie the game 1-1 with two outs in the top of the ninth. Devers ripped a 396-foot, 106.9-mph walkoff single against Blue Jays Rafael Dolis in the bottom of the ninth.
“Vladdy’s nasty right now,” Devers said after the game.
Guerrero tied for second in the majors in average exit velocity (95.1 mph) last year while Devers finished tied for 13th (92.9 mph).
These two sluggers will have a chance to put on another show here at Fenway Park this week. The Blue Jays are in town for three games against the Red Sox starting Tuesday.
Guerrero told MassLive.com here at Fenway Park before Tuesday’s game he really enjoys watching Devers play.
“He always showed that he had that desire to get better every day,” Guerrero said through translator Hector Lebron. “You can tell he’s worked very, very hard to help his team win.”
The 25-year-old Devers, who finished 11th for the 2021 AL MVP, is 15-for-43 (.349) with two homers and three doubles in 10 games so far this season. The 23-year-old Guerrero, who finished second for the 2021 AL MVP, is tied for the MLB-lead with five homers.
Guerrero enjoys watching Devers’ swing.
“He’s the kind of player that he always goes out there to compete and he swings hard. An aggressive hitter,” Guerrero said. “He always swings hard and that’s why he’s so good.”
Asked to name off a few of his favorites players to watch, Guerrero said, “Devers is one of them. Teoscar Hernández is my teammate. I love to watch him play. And Mike Trout of course.”
Guerrero pointed out how he played with Rafael Devers in the 2017 All-Star Futures Game. That game featured top talent, including Ronald Acuña Jr., Yordan Álvarez, Alex Verdugo, Yoan Moncada, Bo Bichette, Rhys Hoskins, Bryan Reynolds and Kyle Tucker.
“We met in the Futures Game in 2017,” Guerrero said. “Of course, I knew about him a little bit. But that Futures Game, then I heard a lot about him.”
Devers said about Guerrero last season, “Obviously being a fellow countrymen, being back there in the D.R. with me as well, we always want to see each other succeed so I’m happy for him.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 19, 2022 17:37:33 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 34m Thought this was a pretty telling quote from Alex Cora regarding the team's Covid situation:
"It’s what we do as an individual to take care of not only you, but your family, the group [of teammates] and the organization.”
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Apr 19, 2022 19:41:34 GMT -5
Jen McCaffrey @jcmccaffrey · 14m -Plawecki, Vazquez and Arauz are fully vaccinated -Wong will catch today and tomorrow. Ronaldo Hernandez is here too -The corresponding move for Hernandez is Rich Hill to the bereavement list -Cora said he’s been at a hotel for seven days because one of his kids tested positive It's like my wife and me. Both vaxxed and boosted, and both caught Covid, separately also.
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Post by scrappyunderdog on Apr 19, 2022 19:44:42 GMT -5
Guerrero pointed out how he played with Rafael Devers in the 2017 All-Star Futures Game. That game featured top talent, including Ronald Acuña Jr., Yordan Álvarez, Alex Verdugo, Yoan Moncada, Bo Bichette, Rhys Hoskins, Bryan Reynolds and Kyle Tucker.
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I remember when the ASG came to Yankee Stadium. I was more interested in attending the Futures Game than the ASG. Apparently, so was everyone else, and ticket prices were insane.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 20, 2022 2:46:17 GMT -5
Red Sox 2, Blue Jays 1: Winning a game of missed chances
The Red Sox take their first game against Toronto in 2022. By Matt_Collins@MattRyCollins Apr 19, 2022, 10:24pm EDT 13 Comments
This matchup between the Red Sox and Blue Jays at Fenway was supposed to be a showcase of offense with two of the most potent lineups in the game facing off. Each side did have their chances on Tuesday, combining to go 1-16 with runners in scoring position, but it turned out to be a low-scoring affair. The Red Sox got a good performance from Nathan Eovaldi, who worked around a bunch of singles, and a great performance from their bullpen, ensuring that the two runs their offense scraped across was enough to take game one of this series 2-1.
More robust game notes below.
After a disappointing loss on Monday in which the Red Sox found themselves into an early hole of which they could not dig out, the good news was that they could turn to their ace, Nathan Eovaldi, in the second game. It’s been a bit of a weird start for him so far this season, looking at strong as ever with his strikeout and walks, but seeing an early spike in his home run rate compared to 2021, a career year for the righty. It’s obviously a small sample with just two starts under his belt heading into Tuesday’s action, but hard contact was something to watch for in this game against one of the most impactful lineups in the game.
It turns out we would see yet another home run, and there were some jams that led to less-than-efficient moments from Eovaldi, but he got the job done while he was able to stay in the game, quieting the Jays. After a relatively quick first inning, the home run came in the second to give Toronto the early 1-0 lead. Zack Collins, who was acquired by the Jays shortly before Opening Day, got a slider that hung right over the middle of the plate. He jumped all over it, sending it out to right field for a no-doubt homer. It’s worth mentioning that now three of the five homers Eovaldi has allowed this season have been on that slider.
It looked like a bit of an inauspicious start with the homer coming to lead off the second, but it turned out that would be the only run allowed by the Red Sox starter in this game. He was impressive working out of jams, specifically in the third and fourth. In the third, Toronto had a pair of runners on with just one out thanks to a single and a walk, but Eovaldi came back with two outs to leave the runners stranded. Even more impressive was that fourth inning when back-to-back singles led off the inning, but they wouldn’t advance beyond first and second thanks to two huge strikeouts followed by a fly out to right field, which was manned admirably by Christian Arroyo in this game.
Eovaldi ultimately went only 4 2⁄3 innings because the Blue Jays were able to get his pitch count up, but he only allowed the one run on six strikeouts and a walk.
Unfortunately, as has been the case far too often early on in this season, the Red Sox offense just failed to come through with big hits when they needed it, failing to pick up Eovaldi with his strong showing. It seemed they’d have a chance against new Blue Jay Yusei Kikuchi when the southpaw started his day with two straight walks. But Rafael Devers followed that up with a frustrating at bat that ended with a double play, and Xander Bogaerts failed to get the runner home from third and the opportunity was wasted.
After failing to convert a leadoff walk into a run in the second, the offense did look again like they were coming alive in the third, and they were able to tie the game there when Enrique Hernández and Trevor Story combined for back-to-back doubles out to left field, scoring the first run of the night for Boston. With the middle of the lineup coming back around and a runner at second with one out, there was a chance to take a lead again, but again Devers and Bogaerts failed to get the run home.
The most frustrating moment for the lineup in this game, however, came in the fourth when J.D. Martinez and Alex Verdugo started the inning off with an error and a double to put runners on the corners for the bottom third of the order. Boston’s lineup has been the third worst in baseball for the seven through nine spots by OPS to start this 2022 season, and they had gone 0-3 to start this game. Bobby Dalbec tapped out to the mound, Arroyo struck out looking (on a pitch off the plate, though close enough that he probably should be swinging), and Connor Wong grounded out to Kikuchi, and again no runs came across.
After Eovaldi exited the game, the bullpen did its best to give the Red Sox lineup time to get back on the board. Matt Strahm got the call first, recording the final out in the fifth before coming back out for a perfect sixth. It was Hansel Robles after him, coming on for the seventh and retiring all three batters he faced.
The lineup was not obliging, though, with the game still tied as we headed into the bottom of the seventh where, again, they gave themselves a chance. It was the bottom of the lineup starting it this time, thanks to Toronto’s defense, as Dalbec reached on Bo Bichette’s second throwing error of the day. He was moved from second to third on a ground ball, and then Connor Wong came through with a fly ball deep enough out to right field to bring Dalbec home, giving the Red Sox their first lead of the evening.
Now trying to protect a lead, Robles came back out to start the eighth, getting both Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Lourdes Gurriel with strikeouts before exiting for the left-handed Jake Diekman. The southpaw gave up a single to the first batter he faced, but he bounced back with a pop up to end the inning and keep it a 2-1 ballgame.
After the offense went down in order in the bottom of the inning, Alex Cora turned to Garrett Whitlock for the ninth in the righty’s first “traditional” relief outing of the year. He looked just as strong as he has in the other roles, retiring the side in order, locking up his first save of the year, and giving Boston the 2-1 win.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 20, 2022 2:59:18 GMT -5
Cora masterfully maneuvers bullpen in win 2:03 AM ADT Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
BOSTON -- The bullpen was something for Red Sox Nation to fret about heading into this season.
Not that Red Sox Nation needs all that much prompting to go into full-fret mode.
But the person who didn’t fret was manager Alex Cora, who calmly looked for solutions rather than the panic button.
And in a tense 2-1 win over the Blue Jays on Tuesday night at Fenway Park, Cora masterfully maneuvered his ‘pen for the final 13 outs.
Against one of the most potent offensive units in the game, Boston’s relief crew gave up one hit and no walks.
Through the first 11 games, Boston’s bullpen has a solid 3.17 ERA (tied for seventh in the American League) with 10.8 K’s per nine innings (third in MLB).
While the formula has changed from night to night, Cora has relied heavily on the four relievers (Garrett Whitlock, Hansel Robles, Matt Strahm and Jake Diekman) who pitched Tuesday.
Here is a look at how it is coming together.
Whitlock is the Swiss Army knife It is always a guessing game when Cora will deploy his most talented reliever, Whitlock.
Typically, he calls on the power righty for bulk innings every three or four days.
But Tuesday, Whitlock was entrusted with a traditional three-out save opportunity for the first time this season.
“I took a chance with Whit,” said Cora. “It’s not the perfect situation. We’d like to stretch him out, but where we were in the game and the game that it was, I felt like going to him.”
For Whitlock, the save came three days after he got the last seven outs in a win over the Twins.
Not only did Whitlock display his typical arsenal of filthy pitches, but he got down and dirty, busting it to the first-base bag to dig out a feed from Bobby Dalbec. Whitlock came out of the sliding stop with a hole in his left pant leg.
When was the last time that happened?
“Probably high school, that’s for sure,” Whitlock said. “Yeah, I mean, Bobby made an amazing play, trying to get over there and cover bases and everything. Just glad we got the out. That was about as unathletic as I could ever look.”
Part of the reason Cora’s “Whitlock plan” is working so well is because Whitlock is so adaptable. Did he think he’d be getting a one-inning save in this one?
“I wasn’t sure, but, again, that’s why he’s the manager,” Whitlock said. “He does an amazing job. Shoot, you guys saw it. He knows exactly what he’s doing, so I always trust him.”
Robles has been overpowering It was nearly an afterthought when the Red Sox re-signed veteran righty Robles to a Minor League contract that included an invitation to Spring Training on March 19. And it was even easier to forget that Robles could be a big piece of the puzzle when he didn’t report to camp for two weeks after that due to visa issues.
But here’s a little secret. Robles has not only been tremendous early this season, but his dazzling stretch goes back to Aug. 30, 2021.
The 31-year-old hasn’t given up a run in his last 19 regular-season outings, a stretch that includes a 0.70 WHIP, a .098 opponents average, 22 strikeouts and only seven walks. In Tuesday’s conquest, Robles gave Cora five outs.
“His stuff is really good,” said Cora. “It’s been really good for a while. His changeup is really good, the slider is good and the fastball is really good. He likes it here too, he says. He’s a guy that from afar, you see him and you're like, ‘That stuff should play at the big league level,’ and so far it’s playing here in Boston.”
The fiery Robles doesn’t dispute that Boston is bringing out the best in him.
“Yeah, there is a different taste to it,” Robles said. “There’s a different adrenaline when you go out there, so, yes, I always enjoy being out there here at Fenway with the fans and everybody. I really enjoy my time here.”
Those lefties From the left side, new acquisitions Strahm and Diekman have both dazzled.
Strahm, who pitched in two smaller markets (Kansas City and San Diego) and dealt with a plethora of knee issues, is now healthy and coming of age. He also has some of the longest hair in the Major Leagues. Don’t look for him to cut it any time soon. Not with the way he’s been pitching.
The 35-year-old Diekman has over 10 seasons of service time and has pitched in pretty much every relief situation in his career.
“Their stuff is really good. Two guys that we recognized in the offseason that could help us,” Cora said. “Strahm, he’s unique. With the stuff he throws, if he pitches inside, he’s very aggressive. Diekman has been doing it a lot for a lot of years, and for really good teams. We want him to be aggressive in the zone, and so far he’s been great.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 20, 2022 3:00:26 GMT -5
Boston's plan with Vázquez, Plawecki out with COVID-19 April 19th, 2022 Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
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BOSTON -- The Red Sox will be without their veteran catching tandem of Christian Vázquez and Kevin Plawecki for at least a few days, thrusting Connor Wong and Ronaldo Hernández into the spotlight.
Vázquez, Boston’s primary catcher for the past six seasons, tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, just one day after Plawecki tested positive. Utility infielder Jonathan Araúz was a second Sox player who tested positive Tuesday.
All three players are vaccinated.
Per updated rules this season, a player can be reinstated from the COVID-19 related injured list after producing two negative tests and no fever. This applies to vaccinated and unvaccinated players, though typically someone who is vaccinated will take less time to test negative.
The 25-year-old Wong came to the Red Sox along with Alex Verdugo and Jeter Downs in the trade that sent Mookie Betts to the Dodgers in February 2020. He got into six games for Boston last season, holding his own with the bat (4-for-13) in his limited exposure to Major League pitching.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Wong, a switch-hitter, will start Tuesday and Wednesday against the Blue Jays.
If Vázquez or Plawecki don’t return by Thursday, Hernández, Boston’s No. 24 prospect as rated by MLB Pipeline, would likely make his MLB debut given that it is a day game following a night game.
The timing for Wong’s start Tuesday was ideal because Nathan Eovaldi, the staff ace, was on the bump for the Red Sox.
Wong and Eovaldi are workout partners in Texas in the offseason. In fact, Eovaldi had three starts with Wong last season and had a 2.66 ERA in 20 1/3 innings over those outings. Wong doesn’t have regular-season experience with Nick Pivetta, who will take the ball Wednesday night.
“He’s a good defender. Something about him, he’s very calm. He doesn’t panic out there. His swing plays. He has some pop,” Cora said of Wong. “Last year was a tough one because he was on the taxi squad, got hurt, didn’t get too many at-bats. But he’s a guy that we trust, a guy that the organization recognized a few years ago as part of Mookie’s trade. Last year, he did an amazing job in the handful of games he played for us. He’s a guy we trust.”
Hernández, acquired from the Rays on Feb. 17, 2021, will try to earn some trust if he gets a shot. However, the right-handed hitter doesn’t have the same familiarity with Boston’s pitching staff as Wong, having appeared in just three games as a reserve in Spring Training.
A right-handed hitter from Colombia, Hernández ripped 16 homers in the Minor Leagues last season for Double-A Portland. He is off to a slow start offensively (4-for-28) for Triple-A Worcester this season.
Aside from the Red Sox having their catching depth temporarily depleted, there is also the natural concern that there could be more positive tests in the coming days.
But perhaps no manager is better equipped to deal with a situation like this than Cora, given the COVID-19 outbreak the Red Sox dealt with in the pennant race last season when 12 players tested positive from Aug. 27-Sept. 12.
Those players included cornerstones like Xander Bogaerts, Kiké Hernández and Chris Sale.
“This is the world we live in, and we'll adjust accordingly,” said Cora. “We did it last year. At one point in Tampa, we were playing Jack Lopez at second, Jonathan Araúz at short, and none of you guys thought we were going to split against Tampa Bay, and we did. We’ll play it out and see what happens. We feel confident that these two guys can call the game. They’re good offensively, and we should be OK.”
Next week, the Red Sox will have another situation to deal with when they play in Toronto from April 25-28. Unvaccinated players aren’t allowed to travel into Canada.
Righty Tanner Houck, Boston’s No. 3 starter, has already stated publicly that he’s not vaccinated and will have to miss his scheduled start in the second game of that series.
Cora said the Sox have other unvaccinated players who will miss that series, but none of those names are public yet.
“I think last year was tougher,” said Cora. “Last year, that was crazy. Leaving guys in Toronto and Chicago and Tampa [with COVID] and then trades, and we had no pitching, and Xander coming out of the game in the second inning and [Josh Taylor] in the third, I remember all those events.
“So that was really tough, because it was like in the middle of the game. Here, you know what you run into, you know where you're at roster-wise and you go from there. We know who's going to go to Toronto, so we’re already planning accordingly.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 20, 2022 3:13:05 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK Nick Pivetta, so reliable in 2021, has yet to find his groove for the Red Sox this season By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated April 19, 2022, 8:44 p.m.
Nick Pivetta was a reliable member of the rotation for the Red Sox last season, making all his starts and far more often than not giving his team a chance to win.
The 29-year-old righthander hasn’t been able to recapture that form this season. He has worked only 7 ⅔ innings over two starts and allowed eight earned runs on nine hits — three of them home runs — with five walks and only six strikeouts.
His fastball velocity, which averaged 94.8 miles per hour last season, is down to 92.8.
The Sox need better when Pivetta faces the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night.
“Mechanics. Hopefully the mechanics are right,” Sox manager Alex Cora said Tuesday before a 2-1 victory. “The timing of his arm and everything else is not there. That’s why you see the velocity down. If you look at the games, the fastball wasn’t great and the slider was OK.”
Pivetta usually throws his fastball 50 percent of the time with his slider, curveball, and changeup mixed in. He’s been working with the pitching coaches on improving the rhythm and extension of his delivery.
At 6-foot-5, Pivetta gets more action on his fastball with a full extension toward the plate.
“It’s not about velocity. The velocity will be great,” Cora said. “With extension and being on point with that, then the fastball plays and the slider plays, too.”
Pivetta faced the Jays five times last season and had a 5.93 earned run average. Righthander José Berríos is Toronto’s scheduled starter. Second chance
Tyler Danish, who was recalled from Triple A Worcester before the game on Tuesday, had not been on a major league roster since August 2018 when he was with the White Sox.
The 27-year-old righthander was released after the season and pitched poorly for Seattle’s Triple A affiliate in 2019. He finished that season with New Britain of the independent Atlantic League.
Danish stayed in independent ball in 2020 then caught on with the Angels in 2021, making 32 appearances in the minors.
The Red Sox signed him to a minor league contract in February. Related: Red Sox add Christian Vázquez and Jonathan Araúz to COVID-19 injured list
“I just didn’t pitch well. It humbled me quickly,” Danish said. “I learned a lesson. You can’t be anywhere else except where your feet are. That’s what I do day by day. I do my best where I am.”
Danish worked with a personal coach, Randy Sullivan of the Florida Baseball Ranch, in 2020 to break down his delivery and build it back up from the foundation. The improvement has been steady since.
“I gained velo, I gained movement. The biggest thing was I gained confidence,” Danish said. “I put in the work to get where I am now.”
He had three scoreless innings with six strikeouts in three appearances for Worcester after being one of the last cuts in spring training. Scouts took note of his excellent slider. He also added a cutter, which helps him against lefthanded hitters.
Danish played travel ball in high school with Christian Arroyo. Both intended to play at the University of Florida but Arroyo was a first-round pick of the Giants and Danish went to the White Sox in the second round. They have the same agent, Tom O’Connell.
Now they’re teammates again.
“It’s funny how things work,” Danish said. “I’m grateful for the chance.”
Double the fun
The Sox have an American League-best 25 doubles through 11 games, six by Kiké Hernández … It was 71 degrees at first pitch on Saturday at Fenway. The three games since have been 45, 48 and 47 … Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was 2 for 3 and has an 11-game hit streak at Fenway. He’s a career .315 hitter at the park … Director of player development Brian Abraham, senior director of Red Sox sales academy and season ticket sales David Baggs, Triple A mental skills coordinator Jonathan Jenkins, and senior vice president/community, alumni and player relations Pam Kenn were among the Sox employees who completed the Boston Marathon. All four ran to support charities … The Boston Pride were recognized on the field before the game for winning the Premier Hockey Federation’s Isobel Cup. Jillian Dempsey and Kaitlin Burt threw out first pitches.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 20, 2022 3:16:24 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 7h The curse of having incredible talent like Bo Bichette? Thinking you can do that instead of stopping, setting your feet and making a routine throw.
You get away with it so often that it becomes habit. Sloppy and wholly unnecessary -- J.D. Martinez would have been out by 10 feet.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 20, 2022 3:17:47 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 5h That's a fantastic diving play by Bobby Dalbec on the backhand.
The downside -- Garrett Whitlock forced to hesitate catching the throw and walked away slowly. Rolled over on his own right ankle.
Need a postgame update on Garrett Whitlock (right ankle). He got the final out -- suggests he's okay. Scary for a moment there.
Boston pitched pretty nicely as a group in this game.
Jason Mastrodonato @jmastrodonato · 5h Garrett Whitlock appears to have lost a lot of skin on his knee, but said his dad told him “it’s too far away from your heart to kill you so rub some dirt on it and you’ll be fine.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 20, 2022 3:18:40 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 5h
Sox pitchers retired 14 of the last 15 batters.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 20, 2022 3:19:56 GMT -5
Jason Mastrodonato @jmastrodonato · 5h Cora said Whitlock is fine and it’s just “a strawberry or raspberry or whatever they call it”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 20, 2022 3:27:16 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 7h Brutal night of contact for Red Sox batters. A couple of softly hit doubles, flare single, and then everything else pounded into the ground.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 20, 2022 3:28:03 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 6h Dalbec hit .293 with a .603 SLG against offspeed pitches last year. So far, has seen 8 offspeed pitches this season.
Devers is just swinging at everything Tonight 13 pitches, 10 swings. He's carried the offense so far with Verdugo, but it's going to bite him sooner than later if he doesn't rein it in some. Even he's not immune to swinging at bad pitches, career .207 average outside the zone.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Apr 20, 2022 3:28:44 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 5h Whitlock: 9.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 11 K 119 pitches, 21 whiffs
He has thrown more innings than Wacha, Houck, Hill, and Pivetta; each having made 2 starts
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