Boston Red Sox: Michael Wacha baffles Yankees in shutout fashion

Sunday Night at Fenway Park was just what the doctor ordered as Boston Red Sox starter Michael Wacha returned from the injured list to spin a beauty against the New York Yankees.

In a 3-0 shutout victory, Wacha took command of the mound like he wasn’t sitting on the sidelines for the last six weeks.

The veteran pitched seven scoreless innings giving up just two hits, a walk and striking out nine.  Yes, he had the Yankees lineup looking foolish at the plate as there was a lot of swings and misses.

While the Red Sox offense didn’t exactly tear the cover off the ball either, the one player who continued to burn the Yankees at the plate was Rafael Devers, who gave the Red Sox all the offense they needed with this two-run blast that marked his 25th homer of the season.

Boston Red Sox get a boost on the mound and at the plate

In all, the pitching of Wacha and the sweet swing of Devers are two reasons there is still hoping this Boston Red Sox squad can make a run at a playoff spot.  Chris Sale aside, when this team is healthy, they are really capable of doing some damage just like Wacha did on Sunday night with a performance that had Red Sox manager Alex Cora smiling.

"“He was in command the whole night, ahead in the count, right through [89] pitches,” Cora said following the game, via MLB.com.  “Very efficient.  His tempo is great.  It makes the defense better.  And we made some plays behind him.”"

In all, it was the pace and poise Wacha pitched with that had the Yankees off-balance.  He had good tempo and kept things moving on the mound.  In fact, he retired the first 14 batters of the game, which set the tone for the night.  Pitching fast is what makes Wacha effective and pitch tempo he did.

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"“Yeah, I feel like I work better that way,” Wacha said.  “I feel like my successful outings are getting back on the mound and on the attack mode.  They came out swinging early and I was making quality pitches and they turned into quick outs and I was able to go deeper into the game.”"

Wacha’s ability to go deep into the game helped a Red Sox bullpen that needed the rest.  Now 7-1 with a 2.44 ERA on the season, the veteran starter has proved to be a boost in that Red Sox starting rotation when he is healthy.  And as long as he is healthy, he should be very valuable down the stretch.

With the Boston Red Sox 4 ½ games back in the American League Wild Card race, more quality starts along with Devers getting hot at the plate is exactly what this team needs.  Aside from that, taking down the Yankees and actually winning a series against an AL East team is also a good sign that the energy is about to shift.