Red Sox Relief Ace Made Big Changes After Playoff Letdown vs. Yankees

Garrett Whitlock was phenomenal for the Boston Red Sox last season, but he ran out of gas right when his team desperately needed one more out.

In the Wild Card Series against the New York Yankees in October, the Red Sox had a chance to win Game 2 and send their arch-rivals packing. But in the bottom of the eighth inning of a 3-3 tie, after Whitlock had already recorded five outs out of the bullpen, the righty walked Jazz Chisholm, then allowed the go-ahead single down the right field line to catcher Austin Wells.

Whitlock's outing unraveled from there, as he walked two more batters and finished the night with 47 pitches, a season-high. He admitted Friday that he simply ran out of gas that night, and vowed this offseason to make sure it wouldn't happen again.

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How Whitlock changed training regimen

Aug 28, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Garrett Whitlock (22) throws during the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

“I spent all offseason really doing a different conditioning program than I normally do because I don’t want to be embarrassed like that again where I just ran out of steam,” Whitlock said, per Christopher Smith of MassLive. “I don’t want to ever have that happen again. And so I’m doing conditioning different this year and making sure that I don’t put myself in that position.”

Whitlock was most effective last year when the Red Sox started using him as a true one-inning setup man, and perhaps they'll continue that during the regular season. But the 29-year-old isn't willing to leave his mound stamina to chance.

“I would do conditioning before I throw my bullpens this offseason to make sure I’m tired when I’m getting on the mound,” Whitlock said, per Smith. “So then that way it’s like I knew I’m pitching tired and just building extra conditioning.

"Like I said, I was pissed off that I was tired at the end of that outing. And I did everything I can this offseason. And I continue to do everything to make sure that that doesn’t happen again."

Red Sox fans can look forward to seeing Whitlock pitch for Team USA in next month's World Baseball Classic. But most of all, they just want to see him healthy and ready to go as many pitches as needed in October.

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