Red Sox’s Garrett Whitlock Left Quite The Impression On Astros Reliever

Boston Red Sox pitcher Garrett Whitlock made quite the impression Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park.

The 27-year-old was superb in the Red Sox’s win over the Astros, allowing just two hits in a pair of scoreless relief innings. He also set himself up for a possible appearance on SportCenter’s Top 10, flying into foul ground to make a sensational sliding grab that left everyone in Houston impressed.

There’s a member of the Astros bullpen that didn’t need to see Whitlock show off to be impressed, however. Houston reliever Kendall Graveman used to be neighbors with Whitlock, working out and training with the Red Sox reliever.

“I saw the character, the heart, the work ethic, the physical ability that he had,” Graveman said on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast. “Then playing catch with him, I saw the stuff he had. It was not the most fun game of catch because it moved so much and he was throwing so hard. … So I knew he had the stuff for the big leagues.”

Whitlock has long been dominant out of the bullpen, and the Red Sox will hope he can continue that trend now that he’s been placed in the role full time.

If they hope to grab the final American League Wild-Card spot, they’ll need him to.