BOSTON — Garrett Whitlock leads the majors in blown saves (four) this season. Two of them took place on the team’s recent raod trip to Kansas City and Detroit and all four have happened since April 30.
Despite Whitlock’s struggles, however, Red Sox manager Alex Cora expressed confidence in the veteran righthander.
“One of the things that we forget,” said Cora, “is that he had surgery last year. Yeah, his recovery was amazing and he’s posting. But even me, I forget about that part. I think the stuff is good, but the location has been off — especially the walks against righties. You don’t (ordinarily) see that from him. He’s been putting himself behind the eight ball because of that.”
Indeed, Whitlock’s been averaging 3.6 walks per nine innings, the highest figure of his career. And as Cora suggested, the control issues have surfaced most against righties, with seven of the nine walks issued against them.
“I think the fastball is playing, but the location is missing,” said Cora. “I’m not giving him a mulligan, but we’ve got to remember: this kid came from (elbow) surgery last year and he’s just getting back to competing.”
Despite Whitlock’s struggles, Cora said he wasn’t inclined to move him into a lower-leverage role.
“Not really,” said Cora. “I think, honestly, what we need to do is stay disciplined. When he goes two (innings), he goes two. When he goes out, it’s two innings. We pushed the envelope two or three weeks ago and he went in back-to-back outings. That’s a no-no.
“Obviously, we’re in the business of winning games and at that moment, we needed him to do that. But I think getting back to being disciplined (is important). If he goes one (inning), he gets one day off; two (innings), then two days off. I think he’s going to benefit from that.”
Since the start of the season, the Sox saw Whitlock as a multi-inning option, one they could turn to bridge the gap between that night’s starting pitcher and closer Aroldis Chapman. But it hasn’t always worked smoothly.
The Sox’ bullpen leads all of baseball with 11 blown saves, and on the recent road trip, the team experienced three walk-off defeats in the span of five days.
