Garrett Whitlock was unavailable for the Boston Red Sox on Monday due to sickness. He was reportedly hooked up to an IV before the game.
The sickness was caused by a turbulent plane ride that had to make an unscheduled pit stop in Detroit. Whitlock returned to the mound on Tuesday and pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
With the sickness behind them, the Red Sox made the most of the story and unveiled a new celebration. Throughout their 8-5 win over the Minnesota Twins, Red Sox players mimed an airplane after extra base hits.
After the game, the Red Sox players talked about the nightmare trip to Minnesota.
“It was awful, man,” Trevor Story said. “It was one of the worst, probably the worst flight that I’ve been on, turbulence-wise. I don’t get motion sick, but it took everything in me not to let it out. The boys were struggling, but like we said, we’re embracing it.”
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Story was 0-5 on Monday, but bounced back on Tuesday with a 2-5, three RBI performance. Lucas Giolito was also seemingly unbothered, at least on the mound. He turned in six solid innings and earned the win for Boston.
“It was the worst sustained turbulence I’ve ever experienced,” Giolito said. “You know, 45 minutes straight of left, right, dropping down. I was saying, at least on a roller coaster, you know when the drop is coming. Or you know when you’re rolling right or rolling left. You can see it. Sitting on a plane, it was like, ‘Oh boy. ‘ At one point, I kinda flew up out of my seat and said, ‘Okay, it’s time to put my seatbelt on.’”
Outfielder Jarren Duran, who also had a home run on Tuesday, played coy when asked about the celebration.
“Is [an airplane] what it is?” Duran said. “Who said that? I can neither confirm or deny.”
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Regardless of what the celebration represents, it worked for them. The Red Sox offense had eight extra-base hits on Tuesday.
