Nearly three months after being acquired from the San Francisco Giants in the Rafael Devers trade, Kyle Harrison finally made his Boston Red Sox debut on Wednesday.
It was well worth the wait.
With Payton Tolle lasting just two innings against the Athletics, the Red Sox needed some bulk innings from their bullpen. Alex Cora summoned Harrison in the bottom of the sixth with Boston trailing 4-3 in the series finale at Sutter Health Park.
The 24-year-old lefty dazzled in his first Major League appearance since June 10, scattering three hits and no walks with two strikeouts over three scoreless innings. The Red Sox lost 5-4 after he departed, however, when Aroldis Chapman allowed the game-winning run to score in the bottom of the ninth.
Harrison’s command was excellent, as he threw 35 of his 49 pitches (71.4%) for strikes. He pounded the zone, which he said was his game plan during his postgame comments.
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“Good to go out there and compete. That’s all I was trying to do,” Harrison said. “Just went out there, tried to attack, and get the boys in the dugout as quick as possible.”
It worked.
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Harrison had been patiently biding his time at Triple-A since being traded to Boston on June 15, going 1-1 with a 4.56 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings for Worcester. He watched while rookies like Tolle and Connelly Early were promoted before him and even endured a false alarm last week, but he finally got his chance to contribute and made the most of it.
Following recent injuries to Jordan Hicks and Dustin May and with Tolle struggling, Harrison could play a prominent role for the Red Sox in September if he remains in the Majors. He’s already made a great first impression, so perhaps he’ll be able to give Boston’s depleted pitching staff a boost down the stretch.
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