MLB PLAYER NEWS

Red Sox lefty Owens to debut at Yankee Stadium

The Sports Xchange

August 02, 2015 at 9:13 pm.

Henry Owens (76) is set to make his MLB debut. Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

Henry Owens (76) is set to make his MLB debut. Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox will take another peek into their future when left-hander Henry Owens makes his major league debut in the opener of a three-game series against the New York Yankees in the Bronx on Tuesday night.

Yes, at Yankee Stadium.

“One, we wanted to insert another starter and not move guys up,” manager John Farrell said after struggling right-hander Rick Porcello was placed on the disabled list with a right triceps strain. “We wanted to provide an extra day of rest. So Tuesday is Henry’s day.

“It’s going to be probably the biggest stage he’s going to make his debut on, (as) the schedule has it. But ideally having another left-hander go against that lineup in that ballpark (would give us an edge).”

Fellow left-hander Brian Johnson made his debut for the Red Sox on their last road trip and will likely get another look soon.

Owens, the organization’s No. 5 prospect, is another crafty lefty. He hasn’t been great in Triple-A, going 3-8 with a decent 3.16 ERA, but has been better lately.

“A lot more strikes. Repeating his delivery,” Farrell said. “Coming out of spring training, there was some work needed with just commanding his body as well as the baseball. And that’s been the case over the last four weeks or more. In a nutshell, it’s more quality strikes throughout the entire time he’s on the mound.”

By blowing a late one-run lead and falling to the Tamps Bay Ray on Sunday, the Red Sox saw their three-game winning streak snapped and dropped into a tie for the worst record in the American League.

So why not look toward the future?