Things could have gone better for Josh Winckowski in his Major League Baseball debut for the Red Sox, but they also could have gone far worse.
Winckowski lasted three innings in Boston's second game -- a 4-2 loss -- of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday. He gave up four earned runs on six hits, walked three and struck out four. The right-hander was having success in Triple-A Worcester before his call to the majors and was pretty blunt when asked how he felt after the game.
"Kind of really bad if you ask me," Winckowski told reporters, per audio provided by the Red Sox. "I'm gonna need to throw a lot more strikes than that.
"Honestly, my personality, I'll probably be pretty frustrated for a long time. Like I said, it's still a really awesome moment. But that game could have, should have gone a lot different."
Winckowski threw 36 of his 62 pitches for strikes. His command wasn't what it was in Worcester but it wasn't because of nerves.
"I honestly wasn’t too nervous. The balls were a little different," Winckowski said. "Really in the first inning, the sinker just kept taking off down on me more than I'm used to. But then after that, kind of just started guiding the ball. I didn't feel like I could let it rip. But it happens."
Maybe it was the humidity or the rain that soaked Fenway Park ahead of Game 2, but Winckowski is excited to work out the kinks and improve from Saturday.
"Stuff like this always makes you work harder and kind of look into some things," he said. "... It will be good to get back to Triple-A and just stay in a routine and just keep working on things."
The Red Sox return to action against the Orioles on Sunday afternoon. First pitch from Fenway Park is set for 1:35 p.m. ET and you can catch all the action beginning at 12:30 p.m. on NESN.
