Winckowski proving his worth with another brilliant outing

BOSTON -- May 12 was a dark day for Josh Winckowski, as he was optioned to Triple-Worcester to make room for Brayan Bello’s return from the injured list.

A key member of Boston’s bullpen last season, the righty was hoping his ability to perform in multiple roles would be enough of an asset in 2024 that he could remain on the big league roster the entire season. It took Winckowski six weeks to punch his ticket back to Boston, and he looks determined not to be sent down again.

After the Padres pounded the Red Sox by an aggregate 20-3 in the first two games of this weekend series at Fenway, Winckowski restored order in the Sunday afternoon finale, firing five scoreless innings on just 58 pitches (40 strikes) while lifting his team to a 4-1 victory.

• Padres starter Waldron honors Wakefield as he brings knuckleball back to Fenway

While Winckowski only forced three swings and misses, he pitched effectively to contact and was in just one true jam.

During that month and a half back in Worcester, when, as Winckowski put it, “time seemed to crawl,” he made a key improvement to his changeup to turn it into a bigger part of his arsenal.

“The changeup for strikes,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “I think early on here [this season], he was trying to get chases instead of just executing the pitch, and whatever happens happens, right? It was weak contact or swings and misses. He did a good job.”

Of the 12 changeups Winckowski threw on Sunday, the Padres swung at nine of them and looked at three for strikes.

“I kind of figured out something at Triple-A,” said Winckowski. “I was throwing changeups that were literally just a ball down and almost never, ever getting swings on it, so we just kind of started trying to throw it in the zone at all times. It's been turned into, like, a high-percentage strike pitch for me and then gets a lot of ground balls. So I think in those 2-0, 2-1 counts, it has been a huge help.”

Sunday’s game was different from the Red Sox’s previous two almost instantly when Rafael Devers hammered his 18th homer of the season in the bottom of the first, a two-run shot into the Monster Seats. Jarren Duran added a solo blast in the third.

With a lead in his back pocket, Winckowski did the rest.

“He’s one of the best pitchers that we have,” Devers said. “I don’t know why he was in Triple-A. I feel like he’s a very good pitcher, and I hope he keeps doing what he did today and he stays with us the rest of the year.”

Cora saw enough from Winckowski on Sunday to say after the game that he earned another start, which will come next weekend at Yankee Stadium.

Sunday marked Winckowski’s first start for the Red Sox since May 2, but his previous appearance after getting called back up earlier this week included a starter’s workload.

In that one, Winckowski came on in relief of a struggling Bello and fired six strong innings against the Blue Jays, allowing two runs while throwing 91 pitches (60 strikes).

“It’s not surprising,” Duran said of Winckowski’s Sunday performance. “That guy works as hard as anyone out here. He did a really good job against Toronto and came out and shoved today. He’s such a good pitcher. He’s always working hard and he just puts down his head and works, and I love that about him.”

Getting sent down is never easy for a player who spent the entire previous season on the Major League roster.

“It’s hard,” Winckowski said. “You kind of sulk for a day or two, didn’t feel like I was throwing my best, it’s kind of part of the business. Just make the most of it and just do what you can.”

And on a day the Red Sox needed someone to stop the Padres’ offensive onslaught, Winckowski was pleased to be the one that stepped up, making for a happy flight to Miami on which players were flying in beach attire.

“Main goal today was to avoid the sweep,” Winckowski said. “[The Padres] swung the bat really well the last couple of days, and obviously, coming in you always kind of want to cool them off a little bit. So yeah, it felt good to avoid the sweep and get a happy flight.”