Michael Wacha returned to the mound Sunday night for the first time in over a month, and he dominated a loaded New York Yankees lineup to give the Boston Red Sox a much-needed series win against a division rival.
Wacha pitched seven innings and allowed just two hits, one walk and zero runs. He also struck out nine on 89 pitches as the Red Sox secured a 3-0 victory at Fenway Park. The 31-year-old right-hander retired the first 12 batters he faced.
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The Red Sox activated Wacha from the 15-day injured list Sunday. He hadn't pitched since June 28.
Wacha staying healthy would be a massive boost to a Red Sox rotation that isn't getting Chris Sale back this season. He has posted a 7-1 record with a 2.44 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP, 59 strikeouts and 23 walks over 77 1/3 innings.
His numbers at home are particularly impressive:
Wacha is the ace of the staff right now. If the Red Sox do secure one of the three wild card playoff berths in the American League, Wacha should be the guy on the mound for Game 1 of the first series.
Getting to that point won't be easy, though. The Red Sox are 4.5 games out of the third wild card spot with four teams ahead of them.
Boston Red Sox
However, they do play 28 of their final 46 games against those four teams ahead of them for the third wild card spot. Therefore, the Red Sox will have plenty of chances to gain ground in the standings over the next month, and Wacha will play a huge part in that push if he can remain healthy.