Red Sox 4, Brewers 5: The Garrett Whitlock Hype Train Runs Out Of Steam (Or Whatever Trains Run On These Days...)

• Someone call Cy Young and tell him to hold off on etching Garrett Whitlock’s name into his plaque (for now.) We all know what Whitlock is capable of and it was hard not to get extremely excited after he carved up the Angels. But despite the fact that he already seems like a mainstay on the team and will be turning 27 soon, the fact is that he still has very little experience as a big league starter (just 12 starts in his entire career!) It showed tonight, when he was unable to adjust to a Brewers lineup that was hammering poorly located changeups. I’m confident he’ll bounce back, but it’s probably unfair to expect him to be lights-out every time he takes the mound.
• Yu Chang’s power is very real:

Chang was always projected to be an everyday shortstop in the Major Leagues. His struggles to make contact have kept that from becoming a reality, but his glove work plays and if he can close up a couple of holes in his swing, he might be the solution to the Duvall injury.

• Rafael Devers — damn, dude:

• Alex Verdugo — damn, dude:

• Reese McGuire had a brief injury scare after he’d already come in to replace Connor Wong. Who would’ve strapped on the shin pads if he had to come out of the game? Alex Cora later admitted that he didn’t really know. But I do: Kenley, time to turn back the clock!

• Things Rowdy Tellez has against the Red Sox:

He heard about Fenway concession stands only offering yellow mustard.

He’s militant about team names using proper spelling.

Wally killed his parents (it was accidental, but still.)

Three Studs

1. Rafael Devers: .103 WPA, 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, K
2. Yu Chang: .124 WPA, 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, K
3. Kutter Crawford: .072 WPA, 2 IP, ) 0 R, 1 H, 2K, 0 BB

Three Duds

1. Garrett Whitlock: -.342 WPA, 4 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 K
2. Kiké Hernandez: -.165 WPA, 0-4, K
3. Jarren Duran: -.122 WPA, 0-2 2 K

Play Of The Game

According to WPA it was . . . Yu Chang’s 5th inning home run, which didn’t even tie a game the Red Sox would go on to lose! But hey, it’s never a bad time to celebrate Yu Chang.