Red Sox’s Chris Murphy ‘Blacked Out’ Before Tremendous MLB Debut

The Boston Red Sox weren’t keen on easing Chris Murphy into Major League Baseball.

They threw him directly into the fire.

Murphy was called upon to make his MLB Debut on Wednesday night, pitching three 1/3 scoreless innings of relief with five strikeouts, allowing just two hits and walking one in a loss to the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. In a game where the Red Sox desperately needed someone to eat innings, Murphy stepped up in a big way.

“It was cool to see,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “(He has a) good fastball, good breaking ball. We’ll stretch him out, but I’m glad he can say he’s a big leaguer. Everyone knows the story, so it was cool to put him in that spot. He came in with traffic and I told him, ‘You’re a big leaguer. Have fun.'”

It was a successful debut in all aspects, not only allowing Boston to reset its bullpen but keeping the Red Sox in the game to the final inning. The night was certainly one to remember for Murphy, though he might be foggy on bits and pieces of it.

“Honestly, I blacked out a little bit after taking in the first few seconds,” Murphy said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “I had a runner on base and didn’t want him to score and the competitor in me wanted to leave that runner there, so that was my first focus. Then, I kind of told myself that I’ll take it in after I’m done.

“At one point it was like, ‘I’m pitching in a Major League game!’ but it’s 60 feet, six inches so everything is exactly the same. It’s just a few more fans and some better hitters.”

Murphy will stay with the Red Sox as they wrap up their series against the Guardians on Thursday night, moving on to get his first taste of baseball’s best rivalry in Red Sox-Yankees on Friday.