OAKLAND, Calif. — Garrett Whitlock understands the situation Justin Slaten is in.
Whitlock had never pitched above Double A before the Red Sox selected him in the December 2020 Rule 5 Draft and then used him as a high-leverage multi-inning reliever throughout the 2021 season.
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Boston already has used Slaten, a December 2023 Rule 5 Pick, in a tie game in the bottom of the 10th inning in his MLB debut Friday and a one-run game in the sixth and seventh innings Wednesday.
Slaten, who only pitched in five Triple-A games before this season, retired all four batters he faced in the Red Sox’ 1-0 victory over the Athletics here at Oakland Coliseum on Wednesday.
He replaced Joely Rodriguez with two outs in the sixth inning, one runner on base and Boston ahead 1-0. He retired Brent Rooker on a groundout. He then induced two groundouts and a fly-out in the seventh inning.
“It’s huge. He’s shown real stones,” Whitlock said after Wednesday’s win. “You love to see a guy come in right away in close games and do the stuff he’s done. So I’m really proud of him and really excited for what he’s doing.”
Manager Alex Cora gave Whitlock the ball for his MLB debut in a low-leverage situation. The Red Sox were down 10-0 to the Orioles in the third inning April 4, 2021.
“We went through this in ‘21 with Whit. He pitched one game when the game was 10-0 and after that, every time he pitched was in a high-leverage situation if I’m not mistaken,” Cora said. “He (Slaten) has got good stuff. He throws strikes, which is the most important thing. We aren’t going to burn guys right away. There were certain guys today that we needed to stay away from so we can take advantage of today and tomorrow. He’s going to be a big part of what we’re trying to accomplish.”
The Red Sox told Slaten entering spring training “to throw his stuff and let the results happen.”
“That’s just the mindset that I’ve tried to carry over,” Slaten said. “Just throw all my pitches in the zone and see what happens.”
Slaten faced just one batter Saturday in his MLB debut, giving up a walkoff single to superstar Julio Rodriguez in a Mariners’ 4-3 win. But Slaten retired all seven Seattle batters he faced Sunday on 15 pitches (12 strikes). He then retired all four Oakland batters he faced Wednesday on 10 pitches (seven strikes). He has thrown 76% strikes in the last two outings.
“He’s filling the zone up,” Whitlock said. “He’s using all his pitches really well. He’s looking really sharp and really on command right now. His delivery looks really good. So he’s in a really good spot.”
