Garrett Whitlock was by no means bad Thursday afternoon, but the Red Sox right-hander's outing clearly was beneath his standards.
Whitlock threw a career-high 61 pitches over three innings in his second start with the Red Sox, who didn't do their budding star any favors in their 1-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Boston only mustered up four hits at Rogers Centre and had a pair of defensive miscues, which resulted in Whitlock taking on the loss despite only allowing one unearned run.
The second-year pro wasn't dwelling on those shortcomings or a few questionable calls from umpires after the game, though. Instead, Whitlock was focusing on what he's continuing to learn in his new role.
"The slider wasn't there today," Whitlock told reporters, as seen on NESN's Red Sox postgame coverage. "You learn from these kind of outings and you just try to go forward. Especially when you don't have your best stuff, you try and still pitch. That was the biggest thing -- still trying to learn how to pitch good and go deeper.
"Any time you don't have your best stuff it's difficult. You just grind it away and pitch and go with what you got that day."
One of the more impressive things Whitlock has showcased in his young career is his ability to balance poise with competitiveness. That strength should bode well for him and his teams on nights when his stuff isn't razor-sharp.
Here are other notes from Thursday's Red Sox-Blue Jays game:
--While Whitlock wasn't all that pleased with his outing, the same can't be said for manager Alex Cora.
"It was good," Cora told reporters. "They put up good at-bats. Obviously, there's a pitch count. We have to take care of him. Overall, he made pitches. The strike him out, throw him out -- that was a close pitch. We didn't get that call to go our way and then we didn't make a play, they score one run. Overall, good outing against a good offensive club."
-- The Red Sox ran into somewhat of a buzzsaw in Jays starter Alek Manoah, who limited the visitors to only three hits over seven scoreless innings. The 24-year-old now is 4-0 with a 1.44 ERA on the young season.
-- Boston has no shortage of power bats in its lineup, but it only has hit 11 home runs through 20 games. Cora isn't worried about the low mark at this point in the season.
"We will hit homers," Cora told reporters. "I think that's going to be part of it. I think we're doing a better job of swinging at pitches in the zone. We're not chasing as much. With that, I think the home runs will come."
-- The Red Sox made a roster move prior to the start of Thursday's game, claiming Jaylin Davis off waivers from the San Francisco Giants. The 27-year-old outfielder was optioned to Triple-A Worcester.
-- Eight of Boston's first 20 games of the season were decided by one run. The Red Sox posted a 3-5 record in those contests.
