The return of Eck
Some might have been surprised that when offering an update on Tanner Houck's condition Sunday morning, Red Sox manager Alex Cora referenced information he got from Garrett Whitlock.
There are teammates and there are teammates that are best friends. The latter is the dynamic when it comes to Houck and Whitlock.
It was a relationship that was defined at a most uncomfortable moment, when Houck was hit in the face with a line-drive Friday night.
"My heart dropped because obviously in the moment you never know how hard it hit or where it hit," Whitlock told WEEI.com. "You just sit there and all the scenarios run through your mind. You’re just hoping for the best and just praying that your friend is OK.
"When he walked off on his own, that was probably the best sign you could see. I just went with him as soon as it happened with the trainer, just making sure he was walking on his own and never lost consciousness. That is the biggest thing."
Whitlock didn't only help escort Houck to the trainer's room until the injured pitcher's wife, Abby, could arrive, but also made sure the support didn't stop at the ballpark.
After Houck was cleared to leave the hospital, it was Whitlock who drove his friend home.
"When his wife was there, we made sure they had some time together. But after the game I went to the hospital and made sure he got home OK," Whitlock explained. "After they discharged him I gave him a ride home. At that point he was just kind of throbbing, just tired. He had a lot of pain. He was ready to get back to his house.
"That’s the thing, with him being as close of a friend as he is it’s one of those things where you don’t want to leave his side but at the same time you’re really worried about him and just want to be there for him."
As it turns out, the actual on-the-field moment wasn't all that foreign for Whitlock. As a freshman at University of Alabama-Birmingham, the pitcher took a line-drive off the throat, making a direct hit with his Adam's apple.
"I have experienced it, but not to that extent where I had to go to hospital," said Whitlock, who actually remained in the game after the injury, going on to pitch a few more innings. "I couldn’t talk for a while, but other than that I was fine."
As for Houck, Whitlock has been in constant communication with his rotation-mate, all the way until the Red Sox boarded the plane for Minneapolis Sunday night. He can report that Houck did get a solid night's sleep Saturday and, all things considered, is in good spirits.
And it certainly hasn't hurt to have Whitlock in his corner from the minute the ball left Kyle Higashioka's bat.
"I’ve been talking to him, checking on him and letting him know I was there if he needed anything," Whitlock said.