Red Sox select Blaine Boyer from Triple-A Pawtucket

Prior to today's game against the Seattle Mariners, the Boston Red Sox selected right-handed pitcher Blaine Boyer to the active major league roster from Triple-A Pawtucket. To make room on the 25-man roster, the club optioned left-handed pitcher Brian Johnson to Pawtucket following yesterday's game.

May 28th, 2017

BOSTON, MA -- Prior to today's game against the Seattle Mariners, the Boston Red Sox selected right-handed pitcher Blaine Boyer to the active major league roster from Triple-A Pawtucket. To make room on the 25-man roster, the club optioned left-handed pitcher Brian Johnson to Pawtucket following yesterday's game.
President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski made the announcement.
Boyer, who will wear number 51, signed a minor league contract with Boston on April 5 and began the season at Pawtucket, where he has posted a 3.14 ERA (5 ER/14.1 IP) with two saves and 12 strikeouts in 10 relief appearances. The 35-year-old spent the entire 2016 season with the Milwaukee Brewers, posting a 3.95 ERA (29 ER/66.0 IP) in 61 outings. In 2015, he led the Minnesota Twins with 68 relief appearances and had a career-low 2.49 ERA (18 ER/65.0 IP). Selected by Atlanta in the third round of the 2000 June Draft, the Georgia native has a 4.17 ERA (188 ER/405.1 IP) and four saves in 394 career appearances, all in relief, over parts of 10 major league seasons with the Braves (2005-2009), St. Louis Cardinals (2009), Arizona Diamondbacks (2009-10), New York Mets (2011), San Diego Padres (2014), Twins (2015), and Brewers (2016).
Johnson, 26, earned a complete-game win in yesterday's 6-0 victory over the Mariners, allowing only five hits and striking out eight batters without walking any. He became the first Red Sox pitcher to throw a shutout of at least nine innings in a Fenway Park debut since Pedro Martinez accomplished the feat on April 11, 1998, also against the Mariners. Johnson's only other start with Boston this season came on April 18 at Toronto, when he earned his first major league win after allowing four runs on seven hits in five innings. The left-hander has made seven starts for the PawSox in 2017, going 2-0 with a 2.82 ERA (14 ER/44.2 IP). Selected by the Red Sox as a supplemental-round selection (31st overall) in the 2012 June Draft, Johnson is 31-22 with a 2.62 ERA (137 ER/470.0 IP) and 421 strikeouts in 92 career minor league starts, earning Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors in 2014.