Red Sox Rising Star Dominates Rehab Outing, Should Be Activated In Coming Days

Boston's pitching staff is approaching full strength

Apr 16, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Whitlock (22) | Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

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The Boston Red Sox have the best pitching staff in Major League Baseball, spearheaded by a rotation with a collective 2.57 ERA through 214 innings pitched.

Most impressive, Boston has made this happen despite three of the original starters on the Opening Day rotation already sustaining stints on the injured list. Now, the Red Sox appear to finally be closing in on returning to full strength.

Red Sox right-hander Garrett Whitlock appeared in what is expected to be his lone rehab start and looked big-league-ready.

Whitlock allowed just two hits and a walk with five strikeouts and 13 swings and misses through 4 2/3 innings for Triple-A Worcester.

The 27-year-old was originally supposed to go four innings according to The Boston Globe's Alex Speier but was so dominant that he was allowed to step out for the fifth in order to reach the 60-pitch threshold that was part of the plan as well.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora stated that he does not expect Whitlock to need multiple rehab outings, meaning he could be back in action when Boston travels to take on the Tampa Bay Rays for a three-game set at Tropicana Field beginning on Monday.

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Scott Neville

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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