BOSTON - The last time we saw Henry Owens on the mound at Fenway Park, he shut down the best team in the American League, the Kansas City Royals.
Owens went 8.0 innings that night, allowing just 1 earned run on 4 hits and a walk to earn the win.
He followed that up with a solid outing against the Mets in New York last week, again allowing 1 earned run on 5 hits but in 5.0 innings.
In his sixth career start on Wednesday, he'll face the Yankees for the second time in his career, already having faced them in his MLB debut at Yankee Stadium, which is no small task. Also for the second time, he'll pitch against Masahiro Tanaka.
"Excited to see his start today," Torey Lovullo said of Owens. "Going up against another staff ace and we'll see what happens. The best part about Henry is that he's gone up against a lot of No. 1 guys and has been unfazed by it. He's been in Yankee Stadium, he's been in big venues, big moments, and still executes pitches and we look for that to continue today."
Owens has also pitched against Justin Verlander, Johnny Cueto, and Matt Harvey, where he's held his own each time.
While it appeared he took a bit step in the minors this season, Owens has impressed since making his first MLB start just over a month ago.
"The ability change speeds, fastball command, swing-and-miss changeup at any point in the count. That's the stuff," Lovullo said. "But the guy has really impressed me too with his poise, mound presence, he stands up there like he's been there for ten years."
It'll be interesting to see how Owens does going up against a Yankees lineup for the second time.