Brandon Walter, a Hodgson High and University of Delaware graduate, made his major league debut for the Boston Red Sox on Thursday during a 6-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
Walter entered the game with a runner on first and no one out and trailing 2-0 in the second inning. Walter gave up a single to Willi Castro and then a two-run double to Michael Taylor. After a walk to Donovan Solano, Walter got his first MLB out when Carlos Correa flied out to center. Kyle Farmer followed with a long fly ball to center that Jarren Duran caught and doubled off Taylor to end the inning.
Walter had a rough start to the third as Byron Buxton hit a 465-foot home run to center field. Walter bounced back and struck out Max Kepler and after another hit, struck out Ryan Jeffers and got Castro to fly out to left.
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Walter settled down in the fourth inning, retiring the side on six pitches, allowing one run in the fifth and breezing through the sixth and seventh innings. He was lifted with two outs and a runner on second in the eighth.
He pitched 6.2 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks. He struck out two and allowed a home run. He threw 92 pitches, including 56 strikes.
Walter is the Red Sox’s eighth-ranked prospect according to Baseball America and seventh-ranked prospect according to MLB.com.
He’s appeared in 13 games (12 starts) for Class AAA Worcester, including 12 starts this year. He is 1-5 with a 6.28 ERA.
Walter is only the second player born in Delaware to play for the Red Sox. The first was George Prentiss who pitched in nine games from 1901-02.
This is Walter’s fifth professional season since being selected by Boston in the 26th round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft. He was the 797th overall pick.
