Watch: Red Sox pitcher throws one of the filthiest knuckleballs you'll ever see
Making his first start since last April, Boston Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright was virtually unhittable against the Tigers on Tuesday.
Wright, a 33-year-old knuckleballer, pitched seven innings and gave up no runs. He let up just two hits and walked three Tigers, while striking out six, as the Red Sox won the game 6-0.
His entire start was impressive, but it wasn’t until the top of the fifth inning that he threw what might have been the filthiest pitch in the majors this season.
Pitching to the Tigers’ Jose Iglesias with two strikes, Wright threw a knuckleball in an attempt to finish him off. Let’s just say the pitch did the job.
Iglesias took a healthy cut and missed as the ball dived to the plate. The pitch’s movement was so unexpected that it got by Boston catcher Christian Vazquez, who was still able to retrieve it and throw to first to complete the strikeout.
Here’s a close-up of the movement on that pitch, which barely spun at all as it made its way to the plate, before taking a sharp drop, rendering it unhittable.
Good luck touching this knuckleball. 🤮 pic.twitter.com/vJdbRhCV2H
— MLB (@MLB) June 6, 2018
After the game, Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire admitted that his hitters were befuddled by Wright’s knuckleballs.
“It’s a slow pitch, but it doesn’t ever do the same thing twice in a row,” Gardenhire said, per MLB.com. “There are theories, ‘If it’s high, let it fly. If it’s low, let it go.’ That wasn’t working tonight. He did a nice job. I don’t think too many of our hitters have seen knuckleballs, especially the younger guys. It was an experience for them. Maybe they’ll do better next time. That’s not an easy art.”
“You need a tennis racket to hit those things sometimes,” he added.
Wright, meanwhile, was pleased that he was able to give his team some length, despite the fact that he hadn’t started an MLB game in more than a year.
“I was definitely trying to go out there and just go as deep as I was able to go,” Wright said. “To be able to go seven was huge. I was lucky enough — I got in at one in the morning (on Monday from Houston), they got in at about 10, so you know, it’s definitely exciting and encouraging going forward. Just going to go out there and throw as many innings as I can.”
Wright said he was nervous going into the start, but settled down after the first few innings.
“That first inning, the first couple innings, I felt a little antsy, a little excited, nervous,” he said. “It’s been about a year and a half since I’ve been out there healthy throwing. It was definitely nice to get back out there.”
His manager, Alex Cora, had the perfect word to describe Wright’s performance — “outstanding.”
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