Brian Johnson can’t throw to first base, but he throws a wicked curveball
Some combination of jitters, rust, and yips slowed Red Sox lefty Brian Johnson in his Major League debut. The rookie hadn’t played in 15 days, and struggled with command early in the Sox’ 8-3 loss to the Houston Astros.
But after waking three batters in the first two innings — and struggling mightily to get the ball to first base — Johnson found his curveball, which looked unhittable for a few innings. He went a stretch of eight batters without a hit, and struck out the side in the third. During that stretch, he threw 17 curveballs in 39 pitches.
“I thought he threw a number of good curveballs, particularly from the second to fourth inning,’’ Sox manager John Farrell told MLB.com. “He started to settle in to, I thought, a decent rhythm. I would imagine that there were some nerves he was dealing with in that first inning.’’
Johnson’s four-seam fastball was all over the strike zone, but the curveball had batters bending at the knees and falling off balance.
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In the fifth inning, the Houston Astros located the curveball, as Chris Carter and L. J. Hoes each singled on the pitch. Jake Marsinick reached first on a forceout. Following those hits, catcher Ryan Hanigan made a throwing error on Marsinick’s stolen base, which scored two runs. Sox manager John Farrell pulled Johnson, replacing him with Justin Masterson.
“Obviously I could’ve done better, but I felt the first inning I kind of got the cobwebs off, but the second, and going into the third, I started to roll a little bit,’’ Johnson told MLB.com.
As for his inability to throw to first, it was something that surprised Farrell but not Johnson, who said his lob was a pre-existing issue.
It’ll be something to focus on in, lest he take a page out of Jon Lester’s book and start throwing his entire glove to first base.
Notable Red Sox rookie performances
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