Mark Melancon Thrilled About Second Chance With the Red Sox, Says Confidence Was Never An Issue

BOSTON — For nearly two months, Mark Melancon toiled away in Triple-A.

It was the consequence of his ineffectiveness with the Red Sox, when he surrendered 11 runs and 10 hits through four appearances in April. But now, the reliever — who was acquired via trade with the Astros in December — is getting a second shot.

With Rich Hill battling tightness in his elbow, the Red Sox promoted Melancon from Pawtucket and placed Hill on the 15-day disabled list. Through all the adversity, the 27-year-old maintained a strong frame of mind.

"You realize it doesn't help to go down there and get pissed off," Melancon said. "It's tough to go down there after you've had a couple bad outings, but you've got to make the best of it. That's what I was trying to do."

"A lot of people ask me, was it confidence? No, it wasn't confidence. I really didn't think it was, and I still don't. Simply aggressiveness and approach."

And aggression was exactly what Melancon displayed after his demotion. As a reliever for the PawSox, Melancon flourished in 21 appearances, striking out 27 batters and allowing just two runs while sporting a 0.83 ERA.

Melancon also took well to the closer's role in Pawtucket, going 11-for-11 in save opportunities. Had it not been for the success of the Red Sox relievers, manager Bobby Valentine said he would've recalled Melancon much sooner.

"Every report was excellent," Valentine said. "From about the third day that he got there, he regained command of his fastball, his curveball, I’m not sure if it got sharper, but it became a much more functional pitch, and he started throwing his changeup, also. He threw to both sides of the plate. He maintained his velocity. He pitched one and two innings. He did everything."

But Melancon was forced to bide his time. Every time a pitcher was called up — from Junichi Tazawa to Clayton Mortensen to Andrew Miller — thriving in the majors, there merely wasn't an opening for him to showcase his improvements.

All those woes are in the past for him. Upon walking into the Red Sox clubhouse, Melancon was just satisfied to return and finally validate his worth as the trade piece for Jed Lowrie.

"It's kind of like if you go to a different school and then you come back, you see your old friends, it's just a good feeling," Melancon said.

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