Garrett Whitlock took the hill for the Sea Dogs last night and thrilled the close to 7,500 fans in attendance for Portland's opening day. This was Whitlock's second rehab start and second opening day as he kicked off the season for Worcester last week.
Last Friday In the Woosox start Whitlock gave up just one earned run on six hits and struck out six in four innings of work. An impressive outing against AAA hitters. Last night was even better as he took the hill and commanded it as he should have. Whitlock went six in this outing giving up just one hit in the outing, A one run on a solo shot in the fifth. He struck out eight batters including three of the last six he faced. Of the 81 pitches Whitlock threw 56 of them were for strikes. He threw 75 last week in Worcester where 50 found the zone.
Whitlock has looked stunning in his first and even better in his last rehab starts. Granted against triple and double a competition but there have been no setbacks and that's the most important thing when it comes to Garrett Whitlock, His Health.
Yesterday's big W that went in Chris Sales stat sheet was simply not as impressive as it looked on paper. Whitlock and Brayan Bello are sorely missed by the Red Sox big league rotation and should both be back next week. Whitlock in time for the three game set with the Rays in Tampa. As it stands or sits right now the Rays are atop the AL East with a 6-0 record after sweeping the Tigers and Nationals to open the season.
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