Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara have both been fantastic for the Red Sox. Just don't expect Tazawa to take on the same dugout-entry antics.
CLEVELAND — Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara have both been fantastic for the Red Sox. Just don't expect Tazawa to take on the same wild dugout-entry theatrics: high-fives everywhere.
"He’s a great pitcher and I really feel honored to pitch with him and I’m trying to keep up with him, what he's done so far," Tazawa said of Uehara Wednesday night after a 6-3 Red Sox win over the Indians.
Between the two right-handers from Japan, there's been 13 1/3 innings and just one run allowed on seven hits, one walk and nine strikeouts. Uehara's given up just one hit in six appearances, while Tazawa hasn't walked anybody in eight.
On Wednesday, Tazawa not only rescued Alfredo Aceves in the sixth inning, when he came in with Boston up 5-3 and a runner on second. He went two perfect innings and struck out four. Uehara followed up with another inning, the eighth, and struck out two more.
The final line: three innings, six strikeouts, no walks, no hits between them.
"If they improve over what they’ve done so far, we’ve really got something," Sox manager John Farrell said Thursday night. "You know, the way Taz came back from the Tommy John surgery, his second half of last year, he might have been the best reliever as things finished up last year for the Red Sox. Koji’s major league experience here in the States speaks for itself. We’re fortunate to have both guys in our pen. They are very good pitchers.”
After Uehara's inning, he stormed the dugout, getting high-fives from everybody in sight per usual.
"I'm trying to not ruin my own hand," he said.
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