BALTIMORE -- Prior to what would be an 8-5 Red Sox win over the Orioles Tuesday night Alex Cora was reflecting on his team's bullpen.
The confidence level, as the Red Sox manager pointed out, was high when it came to the high-leverage existence of Matt Barnes. And ...
"Same with Brasier. Same with Waldy, Work," Cora said. "Those guys right now, as you guys know, whenever we have the lead or a tie game we’re going to them. All of them are doing an outstanding job against lefties and righties."
Tuesday night offered that reminder.
Marcus Walden for three innings, leading into Brandon Workman for the seventh before finally getting to Ryan Brasier and Barnes. Brasier and Barnes? They were always part of the plan. But on May 7 the designation of "Waldy" and "Work" wasn't something anyone saw coming when the regular season rolled around.
But here we are. These two guys -- one who didn't make the Opening Day roster (Walden) and another who appeared to be on the bubble (Workman) -- making this whole relief-pitching thing work for the Red Sox.
Walden did give up one run in his three-inning stint (the first he has allowed since April 15), but once again there was a whole lot more good than bad. The fact that Hanser Alberto's solo homer was the first of the 42 balls put in play against the righty this season that could be classified as being "barreled" should say something.
Walden has been insanely good since his promotion thanks in large part a slider that is getting a "whiff" percentage of better than 47 percent. It has been one of the most noteworthy stories of the young season, and for good reason.
But Workman's recognition should start gaining more attention than it has been.
He has yet to allow a single ball to be barreled up, having not allowed a hit in his last nine appearances and just two on the entire season. Workman has faced 62 batters, given up two hits while striking out 23. The reliever's latest outing also unfolded like clockwork, easily retiring all three of his batters in the seventh inning with the game still in doubt.
"He’s been amazing against lefties and righties," Cora said of Workman after the Red Sox' win. "He’s a guy that we can bring in to get the last out, one inning, and then he can go out there and pitch. He posts every day. His fastball has been playing, his breaking ball has been amazing, the cutter has been good. he’s a different pitcher. It seems like he’s keeping his stuff throughout the week, regardless of the usage. He’s doing an outstanding job for us."
Remember how the Yankees were going to build their bunch around a high-priced bullpen? Well, from the seventh inning and on the Red Sox' pitchers boast a 3.79 ERA and .209 batting average against. New York? Their opponents are hitting 27 points higher in such situations, with the pitchers claiming an ERA of 4.62.
Coming into the season, the plan was for Steven Wright and Tyler Thornburg to get the first crack at these sort of roles. The Red Sox had to call an audible. Thanks to Work and Waldy, the revamped blueprint is working out better than anyone could have hoped.