Winckowski threw a perfect inning and earned a save against the White Sox on Friday.
Winckowski made his second appearance since being recalled from Triple-A Worcester on Aug. 27. In those two outings, he's combined to toss four scoreless innings, dropping his season ERA to 4.10. Boston's ninth-inning job appears to be somewhat open at the moment with Kenley Jansen (lat) sidelined for an indefinite period. Winckowski now has four career saves, with the previous three coming during the 2023 campaign.
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Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Back in big leagues
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The Red Sox recalled Winckowski from Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
With Luis Garcia (elbow) headed for the injured list, Winckowski will now return to Boston just one day after being optioned to Triple-A. The 26-year-old righty owns a 4.37 ERA and 1.42 WHIP through 59.2 frames in the majors this year, though those numbers are heavily inflated by a six-run, three-inning performance during his appearance against Arizona on Friday.
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Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Bound for Triple-A
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The Red Sox optioned Winckowski to Triple-A Worcester on Monday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
Winckowski tossed a scoreless inning Monday versus the Blue Jays in the resumption of a game that was previously suspended June 26, but he'll be send down to the minors ahead of Monday's regularly scheduled contest. Justin Slaten (elbow) was reinstated from the injured list to take Winckowski's spot on the active roster.
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Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Scoops up win in relief
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Winckowski (3-1) gave up an unearned run and retired all three batters he faced en route to picking up a win Monday in the Red Sox's 5-4 extra-inning victory over the Rangers.
Winckowski was back in the bullpen two days after he was called upon to make a spot start in Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Astros. He ended up serving as more of an opener for that contest, tossing 38 pitches over three innings of one-run ball before giving way to Brad Keller, who piggybacked him for four innings. Winckowski made quick work of the Rangers in his return to a relief role, inducing three groundouts to retire the side in the top of the 10th inning before the Red Sox broke through with two runs in the bottom of the frame. Given the light workload Monday, Winckowski could be a candidate to return to a starting role on three days' rest in Baltimore on Friday, when the Red Sox will require a replacement in the rotation for the injured James Paxton (calf). Cooper Criswell could end up serving as the longer-term replacement for Paxton, but he's currently on the COVID-19 injured list and may not be fully recovered from his illness to take the hill Friday.
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Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Starting Saturday
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Winckowski will start Saturday's game against the Astros, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
Cooper Criswell (illness) landed on the COVID-19 injured list Friday and Nick Pivetta is having his turn in the rotation skipped, so Winckowski will step into the rotation for his first start since July 6. In nine appearances since moving to the bullpen, the 26-year-old right-hander hasn't worked more than 2.2 innings in any appearance and has allowed five earned runs while striking out five batters and walking six over 10.2 total frames. He'll be taking the hill Saturday on just two days' rest, so he'll likely be limited from a workload perspective and could end up being deployed in tandem with Brad Keller, who had been starting for Triple-A Worcester before being recalled Friday.
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Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Shifting to bullpen
Rotowire
Winckowski will be available out of the Red Sox bullpen beginning on Wednesday, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.
Winckowski was excellent in a long relief outing on June 25 and a start June 30, but he stumbled in a start versus the Yankees over the weekend, allowing three runs over just 3.2 innings. He'll now move to a relief role, which will open up a spot in the rotation on Friday against the Athletics.
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Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Allows two homers in no-decision
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Winckowski did not factor into the decision in Saturday's 14-4 loss to the Yankees, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts over 3.2 innings.
Winckowski surrendered a leadoff home run to Ben Rice in the first inning and a two-run homer to Alex Verdugo in the third. He departed at 66 pitches with one out to go in the fourth frame in an unimpressive follow-up to the five scoreless frames he threw Sunday. On the season, the 26-year-old owns a 3.23 ERA and 1.44 WHIP over 39 innings and lines up to face the Royals next week if he remains in the rotation.
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Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Spins five shutout innings
Rotowire
Winckowski (2-1) picked up the win Sunday versus the Padres. He did not allow a run in five innings, gave up four hits and struck out one.
Winckowski was efficient in his spot start, as he needed only 58 pitches to get through five innings. It was Winckowski's fourth start of the season and his first since early May. The 26-year-old pitched six innings of relief in his previous appearance and followed up Sunday with another quality showing. He lowered his ERA to 2.80 and is projected to face the Yankees next should he receive another turn in the rotation.
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Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Joining rotation Sunday
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Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Wednesday that Winckowski will start Sunday's game against the Padres in Boston, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.
Due to off days Thursday and next Monday, the Red Sox didn't need to add a fifth starter to the rotation until July 6, but Cora is electing to bring Winckowski into the rotation early. Brayan Bello had been lined up to start Sunday's game, but he'll instead get pushed back to next Wednesday in Miami and have extra time to regroup after he was lit up for seven earned runs over 2.1 innings in a loss to Toronto on Wednesday. While coming on in relief of Bello on Tuesday, Winckowski struck out eight and allowed two earned runs in six innings, so he looks to be fully stretched out enough to head into Sunday's start without any restrictions with his pitch count. Winckowski has previously made three starts with the big club this season, posting a 1.69 ERA and 0.94 WHIP over 10.2 innings.
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Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Bumped up from Triple-A
Rotowire
The Red Sox recalled Winckowski from Triple-A Worcester on Monday, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.
Winckowski will give the Red Sox a fresh arm in the bullpen who's capable of covering multiple innings. Boston was in need of some reinforcement in the bullpen after the team leaned on eight relievers to cover all nine innings of Sunday's 7-4 win over the Reds.
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Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Sent to Triple-A
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The Red Sox optioned Winckowski to Triple-A Worcester on Sunday.
Sean McAdam of The Springfield Republican reported after Saturday's 4-2 win over the Nationals that Winckowski was headed back to Triple-A, but the Red Sox didn't make the right-hander's demotion official until Sunday, when right-hander Brayan Bello (lat) was reinstated from the 15-day injured list in a corresponding move. Over 12 appearances (three starts) for Boston this season, Winckowski holds a 3.33 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 19:11 K:BB across 24.1 innings. According to Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic, manager Alex Cora said that Winckowski will join the rotation at Worcester.
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Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Heading back to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Red Sox are expected to option Winckowski to Triple-A Worcester on Sunday, Sean McAdam of The Springfield Republican reports.
The move will clear the way for Brayan Bello (lat) to be activated from the 15-day injured list ahead of his start Sunday against the Nationals. Winckowski has more walks (six) than strikeouts (four) over his last 14.2 innings (seven appearances). He'll likely be back up at some point when the Red Sox need a fresh bullpen arm.
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Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Works in relief Sunday
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Winckowski made his most recent appearance as a reliever in Sunday's 9-2 win over the Twins, tossing one inning and allowing one run on two hits.
Winckowski worked as a starter in each of his prior three outings, but his usage out of the bullpen to close out the weekend signals that he'll lose out on a rotation spot with Nick Pivetta (elbow) due to return from the 15-day injured list Wednesday and with Brayan Bello (lat) perhaps being activated from the IL as soon as Sunday. Over his three starts, Winckowski delivered a 1.69 ERA and 0.94 WHIP, but he never covered more than 4.1 innings in any outing and thus missed out on qualifying for a win on any occasion.
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Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Effective in short start
Rotowire
Winckowski allowed one run on two hits and two walks without striking out any batters over 4.1 innings in a no-decision against San Francisco on Thursday.
Winckowski's short outing can be explained by the fact that he began the campaign in a relief role and isn't stretched out to a starter's full workload. Still, the right-hander was able to give Boston 4.1 useful frames Thursday, with the only run against him coming on a third-inning Mike Yastrzemski solo homer. With Nick Pivetta (elbow) nearing a return to the rotation and and Brayan Bello (lat) not far behind, Winckowski could be moving back to a bullpen role relatively soon.
Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Goes three frames in start
Rotowire
Winckowski took a no-decision Saturday versus the Cubs, spinning three shutout inning while yielding only three hits. He struck out one.
Winckowski was making his second start following seven relief appearances, hence the reason he was pulled after just three innings and 52 pitches. He permitted a pair of baserunners in both the first and second frames but had a clean third inning to finish off his night. With Nick Pivetta (elbow) unlikely to be ready next week, Winckowski will probably be needed for at least one more start. However, he's simply still not stretched out enough to offer mixed-league value.
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Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Covers 3.1 innings in start
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Winckowski didn't factor into the decision in Sunday's 6-1 win over the Pirates, allowing one run on three hits over 3.1 innings while striking out one.
Winckowski made his first start of the season in place of Garrett Whitlock (oblique), tossing a season-high 3.1 innings while limiting the Pirates to one run. After tossing no more than 28 pitches over his three previous outings, Winckowski was pulled after 46 pitches Sunday. The 25-year-old righty will get a chance to stretch out his arm more, with Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe noting that Winckowski will stick around in the rotation. His next start is expected to come next weekend, when the Red Sox welcome the Cubs to Fenway Park.
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Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Confirmed as Sunday's starter
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Winckowski will start Sunday in Pittsburgh, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.
He will be taking the spot vacated by Garrett Whitlock (oblique). Winckowski hasn't pitched longer than 2.2 innings in any relief outing this season and went just one frame in each of his last two appearances, so Sunday's start will be a pretty short one. With Whitlock slated to miss at least a couple weeks, Winckowski could be needed for additional starts after Sunday.
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Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Could be in line to start Sunday
Rotowire
Winckowski is a likely candidate to start Sunday in Pittsburgh, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.
Manager Alex Cora held off officially naming Winckowski his starter for that day, perhaps in case he is needed in relief before then. He would be filling in for Garrett Whitlock (oblique) and could be asked to make an additional start while Whitlock recovers. Winckowski was stretched out as a starter in spring training, but all seven of his appearances so far in 2024 have come in relief with his longest outing being 2.2 innings, so he may not provide much length Sunday.
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Red Sox's Josh Winckowski: Multiple relief innings Friday
Rotowire
Winckowski allowed one hit and two walks while striking out four over two relief innings in Friday's 1-0 loss to the Mariners.
Winckowski breezed through the seventh inning but ran into trouble in the eighth when he loaded the bases with two outs. Triston Casas made a nice defensive play to prevent any damage to Winckowski's line. Winckowski projects as a multi-inning reliever that can enter at any point during a game.
