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The 23-year old makes his first start for Seattle after missing most of spring
with shoulder and calf issues.  He was 1-2 with a 6.57ERA in five starts for Atlanta
last year and just going eight innings his last outing.

The lefty who will be called from Triple-A Pawtucket, gets his second spot start
of '17.  This is Johnson's third MLB start, and first at Fenway.  He got his first
career win in Toronto on April 18, allowing seven hits and four runs in five frames.

Saturday's game between the Red Sox and Mariners will feature a matchup of pitchers with seven career starts between them. Boston left-hander Brian Johnson will make his first career start at Fenway Park after being called up from Triple-A Pawtucket on Saturday.

Right-hander Rob Whalen will make his season debut for the Mariners; he was 1-2 with a 6.57 ERA in five starts for Atlanta last year. The right-hander missed most of Spring Training with shoulder and calf issues.

Whalen was called up from Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday to provide bullpen depth if needed, but wasn't used. He spent a day with Seattle on May 5 as a long-relief option, but wasn't called on to pitch.

"I'm extremely excited," Whalen said. "The one day I came up and didn't get to throw was a little disappointing, but [general manager] Jerry [Dipoto] promised there'd be opportunities here when I got traded and that's all I can ask for."
As for Johnson (1-0, 7.20 ERA), this will be the lefty's second spot start of the season; he won his first Major League game in Boston's 8-7 win over Toronto on April 18 after giving up four runs in five innings.

"We've seen a gradual increase in his stuff overall," Boston manager John Farrell said of the club's No. 11 prospect. "There's been better crispness, there's been better strike throwing, there's the ability to put away guys with a breaking ball, a slight uptick in velocity, and I think more than anything the two years that Brian in his own journey has gone through, he's coming out the backside of it and regaining the form."
Reliever Ben Taylor was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket after Friday's 3-0 win to free up a roster spot for Johnson.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS GAME

• Whalen will become the 43rd player used this season by the Mariners and their 12th starting pitcher, both the most in the Majors. The club has 10 players on the disabled list, including starting pitchers Felix Hernandez, James Paxton, Hisashi Iwakuma and Drew Smyly.

• Of the Mariners' 49 home runs, only five have come off left-handers. Nelson Cruz, Seattle's leader in home runs with 12, has three of the five.

• Dustin Pedroia will likely be back in the Red Sox's lineup Saturday after the second baseman exited Thursday's game against the Rangers with a left knee injury. Farrell said Pedroia was held out of the series opener for precautionary reasons

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20170526232581132/mariners-red-sox-turn-to-fresh-arms/?game_pk=490840

BOSTON (AP) Brian Johnson had quite a turnaround in his second time on Fenway Park's mound.

Johnson pitched a five-hitter in his first big league appearance at Fenway, and the Boston Red Sox stretched their winning streak to a season-high six games with a 6-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday.

The 26-year-old left-hander became the first Red Sox pitcher to throw a shutout in his first Fenway start since Pedro Martinez on April 11, 1998. In Johnson's first start in Fenway - his fourth as a professional - he sustained a season-ending facial fracture when he hit by a line drive while pitching for Class A Lowell in 2012.

"The last time I walked off the mound here was 2012 and I made two pitches," Johnson said. "Today I went nine innings. Today was pretty cool."

Johnson left Triple-A for a little over a month last season to get treatment for an anxiety issue.

"Obviously with some stuff that I've been gone through in my career, it's an awesome feeling" he said.
But despite the stellar outing, Johnson was optioned back to Triple-A after the game.

"That's the reality of the game," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "We had a chance to congratulate him and yet option him back to Pawtucket, with David Price coming here Monday."

Brought up from the minors for the start, Johnson (2-0) gave up five singles, struck out eight and walked none. His only previous big league starts were at Houston on July 21, 2015, and at Toronto on April 18 this year.

Johnson was helped by a semi-leaping catch by center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. at the wall in the sixth, Bradley's diving grab of Nelson Cruz's sinking liner in the ninth and Bradley's game-ending running catch of Kyle Seager's drive.

Xander Bogaerts' RBI single triggered a three-run first inning and Bradley hit a two-run homer in the sixth
Shut out for the second straight day, Seattle has lost seven of eight.

"Their guy threw the ball over the plate. He threw strikes," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "I won't take anything away from what he did, but we're not swinging the bat very well."

Rob Whalen (0-1) gave up five runs and seven hits over 5 1/3 innings in his Mariners' debut, his first big league start since Aug. 23 for Atlanta. He is Seattle's 12th starting pitcher, the most in the major leagues.

Andrew Benintendi and Sandy Leon also had RBI singles in the first, when the Red Sox had two batters hit by pitches, two walks and two runners thrown out on the bases - Dustin Pedroia at third for the first out and Hanley Ramirez at the plate for the last.

SWEEP
The Red Sox can complete their second straight three-game sweep and a 6-0 homestand with a win in the finale Sunday.
Boston took three from Texas before Seattle came in.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Mariners: RHPs Hisashi Iwakuma and Felix Hernandez, both on the DL with right shoulder inflammation, threw bullpen sessions. Hernandez said he "felt really good."... LHP James Paxton (strained forearm) is set to come off the DL and pitch at home Wednesday.

Red Sox: Pedroia was back at second base after getting Friday off to rest his sore left knee and not play on a wet field. He was hit by a pitch on the right forearm his first time up and went 1 for 3. ... 3B Pablo Sandoval, on the DL with a sprained right knee, was expected to play nine innings Saturday night in a rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket. Farrell didn't rule out that he could be activated next week.

http://weei.stats.com/multisport/recap.asp?lg=MLB&g=370527102

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