James Paxton made his first Major League start in nearly three years on Friday night, with his last appearance coming on April 6, 2021 while still with the Seattle Mariners.
While the 34-year-old southpaw was brilliant on the mound in his Red Sox debut, Boston lost the opener of the three-game set against the St. Louis Cardinals, snapping a six-game winning streak at Fenway Park.
“He looked like the guy that was pitching in Seattle a while ago,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said on NESN’s postgame coverage. “The fastball was playing, the breaking ball got better throughout the outing, the cutter; he dotted a few of those. He was in control.”
Paxton, who missed most of the 2020-22 seasons due to injury and underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021, went five innings while giving up just two runs on four hits while walking one and striking out nine of the 20 batters he faced.
“Honestly, it kind of felt like my debut all over again. You know, after being out so long,” Paxton said on NESN’s postgame coverage. “All those emotions, you know, you’re getting nervous, you’re excited, you know all that and just focus on getting ready for the game and giving it everything I had out there.”
Despite the team being unable to pull out the win, Paxton was happy just to be on the mound pitching in front of his teammates.
“It was awesome to get back out there to compete with these guys,” Paxton said on NESN’s postgame coverage. “It was a long time. I was just focused on finding my rhythm out there and letting it rip and it felt really good coming out.”
