BOSTON — Red Sox manager Alex Cora sent rookie pitcher Tyler Uberstine back out for the eighth inning Sunday after Boston scored two runs to tie the game 6-6 in the bottom of the seventh.
The 26-year-old righty, who was making his MLB debut, had already pitched two scoreless innings against the Padres. Righty Zack Kelly and lefty Danny Coulombe were up in the Red Sox bullpen.
Uberstine ended up allowing a go-ahead solo home run to Jackson Merrill, who led off the eighth inning. The Red Sox lost 8-6 to San Diego to drop to 2-7 on the season.
“Where we were today, it was him, Kelly,” Cora explained about his decision to stick with Uberstine. “So we felt like he was throwing the ball well. One pitch hit out of the ballpark. But he gave us a chance to win the game.”
Uberstine allowed one run, three hits and one walk while striking out two in 2 â…” innings. He wanted to throw a fastball up in the zone, but he left it over the middle of the plate to Merrill.
“I knew I was going back out,” Uberstine said. “I’m just trying to fill up the zone, be efficient, get outs. Try to give the bullpen a break. Ultimately, I let up the home run.”
Uberstine, a 19th-round draft pick by Boston in 2019, experienced quite the journey to the majors. It included going unrecruited out of high school after pitching just seven innings as a senior. He initially enrolled at USC as a regular student/non-athlete and studied business. He had a growth spurt between his freshman and sophomore year of college and tried to walk on to the USC baseball team his sophomore year. He didn’t make the Trojans team but eventually transferred to Northwestern to pitch.
“It finally happened,” Uberstine said. “It was awesome. Fortunate that the team came back, put us in a good spot. Didn’t execute one pitch.”
