Sullivan issues five walks, but shows improvement in third big league start
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DENVER -- Sean Sullivan grew up rooting for the Red Sox, but Tuesday night he wanted to beat his hometown team in his third Major League start -- and his first at home -- for the Rockies.
However, the 23-year-old left-hander had a disappointing Coors Field debut in Colorado’s 5-2 loss. Sullivan (0-2) gave up three runs and struck out three. But he also walked five batters, including Nate Eaton to begin the night; he settled in enough to grind through five innings.
It was the longest of his three big league starts and an improvement over his outing at Wrigley Field on June 17, when he allowed eight runs on nine hits in four innings.
He had a promising debut in Las Vegas on June 12, tossing three scoreless innings at the Athletics before an illness forced him out of the game after 49 pitches.
“I want to contribute to this team badly, and I feel like I haven't been able to do that yet,” Sullivan said. “But, again, I think I have the capabilities to do that. I think it's just going to take a couple of outings to get that.”
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He showed that capability Tuesday night after two of his first three walks turned into runs and a 2-0 Boston lead in the second inning. The game nearly got away from him in the third following a pair of one-out walks, but a visit from pitching coach Alon Leichman and catcher Hunter Goodman helped, as did a successful ABS challenge by Goodman that changed a full-count into a strikeout.
“The ABS challenge came in big spots early on,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “It definitely helped us get out of the inning.”
After a balk moved the runners up, Sullivan struck out Jarren Duran and got Caleb Durbin to ground out.
“Alon gave me some confidence, and Goody was out there giving me confidence,” Sullivan said. “They have a lot of faith in me, and I think that means a lot.”
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He worked out of another jam in the fourth, and Wilyer Abreu took him deep leading off the fifth before he got the final three outs.
“At the end of the night, he gave us a chance to win with three runs over five, but the walk total was too high, too many behind counts,” Schaeffer said. “And the thing is, that's not him. He's just settling into the big leagues and learning how to pitch here.”