Garrett Whitlock made an incredible sliding catch -- that didn't count
BOSTON -- Garrett Whitlock turned in one of the best defensive plays by a Red Sox player this season on Wednesday night, showing that pitchers can indeed turn in a web gem when needed. It doesn't even matter if the play ultimately didn't count.
Whitlock went all out for a pop up in the bottom of the seventh in Wednesday night's 7-5 extra-innings win by the Sox over the Astros in Houston. The Astros had two on and one out in a 4-4 game when Alex Bregman stepped to the plate. The Houston third baseman popped up the first pitch he saw, sending it high into foul territory on the first base side.
Backstop Connor Wong never saw the ball -- and was also blocked by Bregman at the plate -- but Whitlock saw it all the way. He hustled into foul territory and got his uniform dirty with an incredible sliding catch near the on-deck circle. It's not something you often see out of a pitcher:
It was a massive out for the Red Sox, though Bregman was not retired thanks to Whitlock's unbelievable effort. Bregman was called out on batter interference for getting in Wong's way.
While Whitlock's play may not have counted, it will certainly get some end-of-season love when someone puts together a strip of the best defensive plays from 2023.
Whitlock did his job on the bump too, striking out Kyle Tucker with a nasty slider to end the inning and the Houston threat. The righty tossed two scoreless innings for the Red Sox, who won on Adam Duvall's three-run homer in the tenth inning.
