One day after Eduardo Rodriguez shined in his major league debut with the Red Sox, another left-hander showed why he, too, might find his way to Boston before long.
Brian Johnson tossed six perfect innings Friday as the Pawtucket Red Sox defeated the Louisville Bats 1-0 at McCoy Stadium. Johnson was removed after six frames because the PawSox had him on a pitch count, which the 24-year-old lefty was understanding of following the dominant performance.
“I came back to the dugout and put my glove down and turned around with water in my hand, and (PawSox manager Kevin Boles) said, ‘Hey, you’re done,’ ” Johnson said after the game, according to the Providence Journal’s Brian MacPherson. “It is what it is. They’re looking out for me. I’m grateful for it.”
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Johnson originally was supposed to pitch Saturday, with Rodriguez pitching Friday for Triple-A Pawtucket, according to MacPherson. Both hurlers would have worked with an extra day of rest.
But Rodriguez was promoted to the majors to pitch the Red Sox’s game against the Texas Rangers on Thursday, leaving Johnson to pitch for the PawSox on normal rest Friday. And Pawtucket’s staff thus decided to implement a pitch count with Johnson, who had thrown at least 90 pitches in each of his previous three starts.
“Obviously, we didn’t know that he was going to pitch as well as he did,” Boles said of removing Johnson in the midst of a perfect game.
Johnson struck out nine of the 18 batters he faced while throwing 74 pitches. He fanned a pair in the second, fifth and sixth innings. Louisville’s lone baserunner in the game stemmed from a one-out single off Miguel Celestino in the eighth inning.
Johnson, who was unaware of his pitch count entering the contest, owns a 2.60 ERA in 10 starts with Pawtucket this season. The 2012 first-round pick posted a 1.75 ERA in 20 starts with Double-A Portland last season.
Johnson, Rodriguez and Henry Owens all are highly regarded southpaws in the Red Sox organization. One already has debuted with Boston. The other two aren’t far behind.
Thumbnail photo via Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images
