TAMPA – Brian Johnson made a strong push this spring and on Friday he was rewarded with the news he will be part of the Red Sox' starting rotation to start the season.
“He’s going to start one of the first five games,’’ said Alex Cora after the Red Sox’ 5-0 shutout of the New York Yankees. “We’ll make a decision which one, but he’s thrown the ball well, commanded the fastball and he’s one of our best five options to start games right now, so he’ll do it.’
In his final start of the Grapefruit League season, Johnson tossed 4.2 scoreless innings against the Yankees, leaving Johnson with an ERA of 1.72. He allowed just 10 hits in 15.2 innings and struck out 13 while walking just three.
Moreover, Johnson’s shutout innings Friday came against a very imposing New York lineup that featured Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gary Sanchez, Didi Gregorius and others.
“No matter what sport you’re in, you want to face the best,’’ said Johnson. “You want to go out there and see how you do against the best people you can face. It was a great test. I didn’t try to put any extra pressure on myself or do anything different. I just did what I do with Sandy (Leon) and try to stick to what I do well.’’
Johnson has never overpowered anyone with his stuff, but when he can command and spot his fastball, he can be highly effective.
“Anytime you can locate your fastball,’’ he said, “it becomes almost four different pitches for you: up, down, in and out.’’
Johnson credits pitching coach Dana LeVangie with improving his deception by having him turn a bit more in his delivery, making it tougher for hitters to track the ball coming out of hand.
“Trying to hide the ball has been very, very helpful,’’ Johnson said. “That little bit of turn hides it for that much longer.’’
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