ESPNBoston: Barnes solid in first start

PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Friday night marked Matt Barnes’ first start of the season, but outside of a couple of hiccups and an abbreviated pitch count, you would hardly know it based on the five strong innings the right-hander put together.

“He had fastball command tonight, he had a feel for a breaking ball, and threw a couple good changeups,” Pawtucket Red Sox manager Kevin Boles said following the start. “He attacked the zone. I thought it was very impressive for his first time out.”

Barnes is currently the eighth-ranked prospect on SoxProspects.com, coming off a solid 2013 season spent mostly in Portland in which he struck out 142 batters in 113 1/3 innings with a 4.13 ERA. The 6-foot-4 UConn alum owed the delayed start to his season this year to a sore shoulder. Any mention of a shoulder injury for pitchers usually will raise red flags, but in this case, Barnes described it as minor.

“It was just a little tenderness,” Barnes said. “It was early in the season, just kind of wanted to be cautious with it. But I feel really good now.”

Read the full story on ESPNBoston.com.

Photo credit: Matt Barnes by Kelly O'Connor

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