Thornburg Impresses in First Rehab Outing

PAWTUCKET, R.I. - Red Sox reliever Tyler Thornburg graced the McCoy Stadium mound for less than 10 minutes Monday night but did enough to hog the spotlight, striking out three in a sharp, scoreless inning in Pawtucket's 5-1 loss to the Rochester Red Wings.
Thornburg made his first rehab appearance and worked the seventh inning as he continues to recover from right shoulder surgery he underwent in mid-June to treat thoracic outlet syndrome. The right-hander, who was acquired from the Brewers in December 2016, threw 16 pitches (11 strikes) and struck out three straight after he allowed a leadoff line drive to center that deflected off the glove of center fielder Aneury Tavárez, who ran in and went into the slide but could not make the play. Thornburg had last appeared in a regular-season game of any sort 576 days ago, when he pitched for Milwaukee in early October, 2016.
"He threw the ball very well tonight," Pawtucket manager Kevin Boles said. "The fastball was coming out. The breaking ball is impressive. That curveball. That's something. That was a pretty good breaking ball there. He threw a couple for land strikes. The fastball had good down angle to it. He was really impressive tonight. That was a good night for him."
Unofficially, Thornburg threw 11 fastballs, four curveballs and one changeup. He consistently spotted his fastball at the bottom of the zone and worked from 92-95 MPH, averaging 93 MPH and bumping 95 MPH twice, including an up-and-in fastball employed for his second strikeout. For reference, in his five-year MLB career, Thornburg's average fastball velocity has been 93.9 MPH, per Brooks Baseball. His curveball, which was used for the other two punchouts, sat 77-78 MPH.
"He was aggressive, didn't look like there was any hesitation there," Boles said. "Again I don't have any history with him, but what your eyes tell you from the first look, that's a pretty good arm right there. He's got stuff."
The Red Wings (9-10) scored three runs in the first inning and never trailed in claiming the opener of the three-game set with the PawSox (11-10).
Before Thornburg made his long-awaited return to the mound, Pawtucket starter Chandler Shepherd (L, 0-2) gave up four runs on seven hits and a pair of walks in 3.2 innings. From there, right-hander Ty Buttrey took over and got the next four outs despite a couple walks and a hit batter, and southpaw Robby Scott delivered a 1-2-3 sixth inning, lowering his ERA to 1.04. In eight of his nine appearances, Scott has not allowed an earned run, and he's only once allowed more than one hit. Righty Kyle Martin allowed a run in two innings after Thornburg.
Pawtucket right fielder Rusney Castillo (2-for-4), who began the night leading the International League in hits, collected two more singles atop an otherwise quiet PawSox order, which has been limited to just one run in the last two games.
Despite giving up plenty of hard contact, Rochester starter Dietrich Enns (W, 1-3) spun six innings of one-run ball in which he only walked one and struck out just one.  
Rochester jumped on Shepherd in the top of the first inning, and cleanup man Willians Astudillo roped an RBI double to the left-field wall. On the very next pitch, Red Wings designated hitter Brock Stassi stroked an RBI single to left to make it 2-0. First baseman Jermaine Curtis followed with an RBI groundout chopped over the mound to tack on a run.
Pawtucket jumped onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the third inning. No. 9 hitter and shortstop Mike Miller worked a leadoff walk and advanced two bases on a wild pitch. Castillo then worked a lengthy at-bat and scorched the ninth pitch he saw back up the middle for an RBI single to make it 3-1.
Rochester chased Shepherd from the game in the top of the fourth inning. Buttrey replaced him and walked the first batter he faced, after which Astudillo slapped an RBI single into right field to stretch the gap to 4-1.
The Red Wings pushed across a fifth run in the top of the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly to left from left fielder Jake Cave.
Pawtucket continues its three-game series with Rochester on Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. PawSox right-hander Justin Haley (0-3, 4.50) is scheduled to oppose Red Wings lefty Stephen Gonsalves (3-0, 1.77 with Double-A Chattanooga this season). Radio coverage on WHJJ (920 AM and 104.7 FM) and throughout the PawSox Radio Network begins with the pre-game show at 5:45 p.m.
The brief three-game series and homestand runs through Wednesday. Good seats are available, and fans can visit the McCoy Stadium box office, which is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. through 5 p.m., and during all home games. Fans can also call (401) 724-7300 or log on to PawSox.com for tickets.