The Red Sox have promoted the likes of Ryan Weber and Josh Smith from Triple-A Pawtucket to help fill in the big league starting rotation, but neither of those two was the best option to call up. At least not when you look at the numbers.
Mike Shawaryn has been.
Boston’s 2016 fifth-round draft pick has been consistent since his first outing for the PawSox at the start of April. Shawaryn continued that stretch in Thursday's appearance against the Norfolk Tides (Orioles), dropping his ERA to 2.79 and his WHIP to 1.07. He gave up two earned runs on three hits over 5 2/3 innings, and it was the first outing of 2019 the 24-year-old didn’t walk a batter. Not that control has been an issue for Shawaryn. In his previous six outings he only walked more than one batter twice. Additionally, the righty has logged at least five frames per outing, registering 42 through his seven starts.
It would seem the only reasons the Red Sox wouldn’t want to bring up Shawaryn are his age and years of experience. Outside of that, it appears he’s earned some sort of chance at the big league level.
Houck struggles again
After a string of three strong starts in a row, Tanner Houck finds himself in the midst of a rough patch with Double-A Portland. The Red Sox 2017 first-round draft pick was rocked by the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays) on Thursday. He only last 2 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on a walk and five hits, two of which were home runs. This start comes on the heels of Houck’s May 3 outing when he gave up five runs on three walks and nine hits over 5 1/3 against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets).
The Sea Dogs went on to lose Houck’s start against the Fisher Cats 11-1. Dustin Pedroia and Bobby Dalbec were both quiet offensively, each going 0-for-4. Pedroia started at designated hitter with the quick turnaround from a night game on Wednesday to an 11 a.m. start on Thursday.