The Boston Red Sox earned a win early Monday morning, taking down the Chicago White Sox 4-2. Walker Buehler was the starting pitcher on the mound in this one, and he had himself a great performance. After the game, he revealed how his play reminded him of SpongeBob SquarePants.
During the postgame press conference, Buehler was asked when the last time he had to wake up so early for a game was. The 30-year-old pitcher shared that it was back in 2017 in a Double-A game against Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com. The Red Sox star admitted that the contest was a “SpongeBob SquarePants Day” and he had thought about it before taking the mound on Monday.
“It was 2017, in Double-A against Jack Flaherty,” said Buehler. “We had a SpongeBob SquarePants Day that we pitched against each other in. I was thinking about that earlier, so I think that's it.”
Walker Buehler finished Monday's game with nine strikeouts while allowing four hits, three walks, and one earned run through seven innings pitched. 63 of his 100 pitches on the day resulted in a strike.
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Red Sox manager Alex Cora was asked about Walker Buehler's day as well. Cora couldn't have been more proud of what he saw from the two-time All-Star. However, Cora did stat he'd like to see the walks limited as the season progresses.
“He did a good job,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “If we can limit the walks, we're going to be in a really good spot. Pitchability comes into play. He uses all his fastballs, changes speeds with the breaking ball. He was in command. Triston [Casas] made a great play on the [Andrew Benintendi] ball to turn a double play. But overall, going back to Walk, he was amazing.”
Buehler is due to take the mound again in late April. He'll either play against the Cleveland Guardians or Toronto Blue Jays, depending on how the Red Sox manage their rotation.
