Garrett Whitlock picks up third save for Red Sox

Whitlock returns to Boston’s high-leverage mix for Saturday’s critical doubleheader against the division-rival Yankees. The 30-year-old setup specialist wound up requiring just a minimum stay on the injured list with elbow inflammation. He’s forged a sparkling 2.05 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 49/7 K/BB ratio across 44 innings of work this season.

Whitlock would end up missing just the minimum 15-day stint if he does receive that activation. The 30-year-old will be a high-leverage option whether he returns to the Red Sox on Saturday or a day or two later.

There’s a belief among the Red Sox, and Whitlock himself, that he’ll be ready to return when first eligible next week. That seems a tad optimistic, but the 30-year-old setup specialist won’t need too much time to ramp up after an MRI didn’t reveal any structural issues in his elbow earlier this week.

It’s an extremely encouraging development after Whitlock required a trip to the injured list last week with elbow inflammation. The 30-year-old setup specialist has made a staggering 20 appearances since June 25, which is probably why he’s dealing with elbow issues. It sounds like there’s optimism he’ll make it back before the end of the regular season.

Whitlock claims he doesn’t think the injury is serious, but he also said the discomfort had been building for weeks and peaked in the bullpen on Tuesday. That’s not a great sign. This is a huge loss for the Red Sox’s bullpen, as Whitlock had posted a 2.05 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 49/7 K/BB ratio in 44 innings this season.

Not a great sign. Whitlock told reporters that the pain has been “building” for a couple weeks, but doesn’t believe he’s dealing with any structural issues. It certainly explains why he wasn’t summoned during Wednesday’s eighth-inning meltdown when Tyron Guerrero and Alec Gamboa combined to allow five runs. The 30-year-old has had a phenomenal season, posting a sparkling 2.05 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 49/7 K/BB ratio across 44 innings as one of the premier setup specialists in the game. There should be some additional clarity on his status later this week.

That was after Garrett Whitlock took a blown save for giving up the tying run in the eighth. Chapman got two quick outs to start the ninth but then gave up a single, a steal on what should have been a pickoff and a go-ahead double. The pickoff wasn’t converted into an out because Chapman was fairly slow getting the ball to Willson Contreras and then Contreras made a bad throw to second. Chapman warmed up to come into Saturday’s game and threw 23 pitches today, so he might be down Monday. Whitlock should be available to close.

It was a surprise not to see Whitlock involved in Saturday’s win, but interim manager Chad Tracy said today that he was giving his “beat up” setup man some extra time off after a very busy July. Whitlock would have closed tonight with Aroldis Chapman having pitched three of the previous four days, but he missed out on the save after the Red Sox upped their lead from two runs to four in the eighth. Whitlock’s arm seemed fine tonight, as he topped out at 97.1 mph. His two sliders averaged 87.3 mph, which is 1.4 mph better than his season average.

The Red Sox used Aroldis Chapman in a tie game in the ninth, and he got the win after the team scored in the top of the 10th. Whitlock then retired Jorge Polanco, Brett Baty and Bo Bichette in order. He has a 2.18 ERA and a 37/6 K/BB in 33 innings this season. Whitlock is likely one of the pitchers the Red Sox will consider moving if they opt to sell at the deadline, but a nine-game winning streak to end the first half has made it more likely that most everyone is going to stick around.

Whitlock got the call to protect a three-run lead in the final frame with Aroldis Chapman unavailable after pitching three of the previous four games, including back-to-back outings against the Yankees over the weekend. He struck out Dylan Crews and got pinch-hitter Daylen Lile to pop out before giving up a two-out single to a red-hot Luis García Jr. He prevented things from getting interesting by whiffing pinch-hitter Jorbit Vivas to extinguish any hopes of a Washington comeback.