Garrett Whitlock strong in his rehab outing with the WooSox
Garrett Whitlock took the mound for the WooSox this morning, making what is expected to be his only rehab outing in the minors.
Whitlock looked strong over 4 2/3 innings, giving up just two hits while walking one and striking out five. He threw 61 pitches, 40 of them for strikes. The righty threw his whole pitching arsenal at the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, opening the game sitting between 94 and 95 mph while mixing in his sinker and sweeper, which he threw 11 times, inducing six swings and misses.
Prior to the game, WooSox manager Chad Tracy told reporters that Whitlock was slated for just four innings or 60 pitches, but he was so efficient on the mound (47 pitches through four frames) that he was brought out to start the fifth inning.
“Trace knows me well enough by now that as I was coming in, he was just like, ‘Good job, you earned the fifth.’ So I didn’t have to really ask, and Trace didn’t really have to beg,” said Whitlock.
The next step for Whitlock is to meet with Red Sox officials and Alex Cora to determine his next steps. Whitlock believes he is ready to contribute at the major league level. Baring any setbacks to Whitlock, he is expecting to pitch against the Rays down in Tampa following the series with the Cardinals.
“I believe so,” Whitlock said. “Everything felt good. Again, from just kind of my view of things, everything’s moving in the right way. Obviously, we’ll take a look at it, but from my end, I’m happy with it.
“You always hate missing time. So it would be very nice to be able to be back and help out the big league team and do whatever I can do.”
