Red Sox 28-year-old rookie Jamie Westbrook’s 5,076th career plate appearance in professional ball was also his first plate appearance in the major leagues.
Manager Alex Cora called on Westbrook to pinch hit for Wilyer Abreu against Tigers lefty Andrew Chafin with two outs and two runners on base in a 4-4 game in the ninth inning Sunday. He drew a five-pitch walk but Boston ended up losing 8-4 in 10 innings here at Fenway Park.
“Obviously I’m not going to lie to you guys and say I wasn’t nervous,” said Westbrook, who Boston promoted before the game as one of five roster moves. “But like I’ve said before, I’ve had over 4,000 at-bats in pro ball. I’ve done it. It’s just another at-bat. So I kind of reminded myself of that — stay loose, stay calm.”
Westbrook’s walk loaded the bases, then Connor Wong crushed a 358-foot fly ball to right field that kept carrying before Wenceel Pérez made the catch.
“It was nuts, man,” Westbrook said. “If you’re going to get in there, I guess it’s the best time. Get thrown right into the fire. Obviously we had a chance to win the game there. So I was thinking, ‘Just have a good at-bat.’ But it was really cool. The crowd was loud. When it got to 3-1, I had to refocus. But it was awesome, man. Everything I dreamed of. No doubt.”
Westbrook, a Diamondbacks 2013 fifth round draft pick, spent 11 years in the minors. He has played for five different organizations. He also played in Indy Ball in 2020 and Mexico.
He was born in Springfield. He lived in Holyoke until he and his parents moved to Arizona when he was 10.
He flew Saturday evening with his wife and seven-month-old son from Charlotte (where Triple-A Worcester is playing this week) to Boston. His parents took a red-eye flight from Arizona to Boston. He also had some family from Western Mass. here.
Cora said he plans to start Westbrook in Boston’s next game, Tuesday against Atlanta here at Fenway. But Westbrook said pinch hitting for his first major league plate appearance in that situation “was pretty cool.”
“Runner in scoring position, two outs. You wouldn’t want it any other way,” Westbrook said. “I wish we could have come out on top tonight. But yeah, it was really cool, man.”
Cora was visualizing a potential Westbrook vs. Chafin matchup during the eighth. He thought Detroit might use the left-handed reliever in the ninth.
“While the (ninth) inning was going, I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s going to happen here. It’s gonna happen,’” Cora said. “And it was a great at-bat. And he will do that. This is a guy that finds the barrel. He puts good at-bats. He hits the ball hard. And he’s versatile.”
Cora said a walkoff would have been a great story but Westbrook put together “a quality at-bat.”
“Just staying ready,” Westbrook said. “It’s the same thing as if I was in Triple A and there’s a lefty warming up late in the game and I’m off or something. So just kind of keep it the same. Be ready, be loose and go do what I know how to do.”
Red Sox reliever Cam Booser allowed four runs in the 10th. Andy Ibáñez’s RBI double put the Tigers ahead. With two outs, Javier Báez ripped a two-run single to put Detroit ahead 7-4. Carson Kelly’s RBI double made it 8-4.
