“(Connor) Wong was able to guide me through that tonight. I thought his pitch selection was fantastic,” Whitlock told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “And luckily I was able to throw the slider to both righties and lefties and also the changeup so I was happy about that.”
Whitlock acknowledged that it has been a challenge changing roles from reliever to starter and is thankful for the support he gets in the clubhouse.
“I’m trying to build on each start and really lean on the veterans here that have had the amount of time they’ve had starting,” Whitlock said. “Trying to lean on them and learn from their wisdom.”
Out of the Red Sox pitching staff, the 26-year-old said one stands out the most in guiding him — Corey Kluber.
“All these have helped me a ton, but Kluber is with pitch selection and reading at-bats, Kulber has helped me tremendously,” Whitlock explained. “I’ve talked to him in the dugout, going over our pitches and everything. He’s been a help trying to help me read swings and see what I see pitch after pitch.”
Here are more notes from Friday’s Red Sox-Yankees game:
— Cora provided an update on Yu Chang, who the manager hopes to rejoin the team on Monday when the Red Sox return home to face the Colorado Rockies.
“He was a little sore after the game yesterday,” Cora said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “We just got to make sure he feels okay. He didn’t play today. He’s not going to play tomorrow or Sunday. We just got to make sure. … He’s very important to us. We have to make sure he is ready to go.”
