McAdam: As Red Sox bullpen door revolves, Sunday was Marcus Walden's moment

With no designated closer and an approach that can change on a daily basis, you never know what you're going to get out of the Red Sox' bullpen.

For that matter, you never know who you're going to get out of the Red Sox bullpen. When the door opens in the top of the ninth, there are any number of possibilities.

Not long ago, Heath Hembree was posting his first career saved. On Sunday, that honor went to Brandon Workman.

But before Workman successfully closed out the Red Sox 4-3 win over the Houston Astros, acting as the closer du jour, there were other more precarious outs to get.

The biggest two, with the benefit of hindsight, came in the sixth. Chris Sale had just issued his season-high fifth walk of the afternoon and at 106 pitches, was clearly pretty cooked. Out came Sale and in came Marcus Walden.



No players on the Boston roster has undergone a bigger transformation since a year ago. Last year, he was a surprise addition to the 25-man roster for Opening Day, having gone to camp as a non-roster invitee. He barely made it to the home opener, and didn't pitch in the big leagues after the first week of May. In the second half, as the Red Sox attempted to put their pen in order, Walden was an afterthought.

But this season, Walden has emerged as one of the biggest surprises of the season at just past the one-quarter mark. His usage has been far different and so have the results. In his last 11 appearances, Walden has an 0.49 ERA; for the season, his ERA is a tidy 1.37. Walden, a 30-year-old journeyman, leads the Red Sox in wins with six.

Take Sunday as a case study. In the sixth inning, the Sox were facing a huge moment. Sale had filled the bases thanks to a leadoff double and then, one out later, consecutive walks.

Earlier in the week, in a similar spot -- albeit an inning later -- Alex Cora had tabbed Matt Barnes, his most trusted reliever, in a similar spot, because the 2019 Red Sox aren't into fixed roles and static inning assignments.

But this time, Cora went to Walden, who, on his sixth pitch, got Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick to hit into an inning-ending double play.

"Even coming out of the game, you know that that's a big point in the game,'' said Sale. "(Walden) has been unbelievable for us all year. He's been kind of one of our unsung heroes. You don't hear a lot (about him), but we know internally what he's done. And you look at his stuff, and it's up there with anybody. He's disgusting. He throws strikes. He's a power guy with some really good stuff. I was obviously really comfortable seeing him running through the gates.'

That confidence was well-placed. Walden was once teammates with Marisnick in the Toronto organization, but that was more than seven years ago and both Marisnick and Walden are different now. Still, Walden had a plan.

"You just go out there, knowing you're one pitch away (from getting out of trouble),'' said Walden. "Just trying to get a ground ball, honestly, kept going to the slider, trying to run away from his barrel and got a ground ball up the middle (to Xander Bogaerts, who started the double play).''

Earlier in the season, Walden was viewed as more of a long man, capable of giving the Red Sox multiple innings when starters were getting knocked around early. Now that the rotation has stabilized and Walden has established trust with Cora and pitching coach Dana Levangie, he's often put in high leverage spots -- also for more than an inning.

After he pulled his escape job in the sixth, Walden went back out for the seventh to face the first three hitters in the Houston lineup. He got another groundout, and after a walk, a second double play. Four batters faced, five outs recorded.

He then gave way to Barnes, who had the eighth, then Workman, the somewhat unlikely choice to close the game out.

"I think that's the one thing that our bullpen has. We've got a lot of guys who can do a lot of different things,'' Walden said. "I don't think people walked in today thinking that Workman was going to get the save. Obviously, we have all the confidence in the world in him.''

"We kind of mix-and-match,'' said Xander Bogaerts. "Sometimes, Barnes and (Ryan) Brasier; today, Workman closing the game. It's pretty nice, however the staff does it. But it works. Sometimes you see Barnes in the eighth, or Barnies in the seventh. But they know what they're doing. Whatever works out good for us, it's fun to see different guys being able to do that...It's been good so far.''