NEW YORK -- There was a lot to like about the major league debut of Henry Owens. In fact, Owens was about the only thing to like from the Red Sox' perspective Tuesday night.
In a 13-3 drubbing by the New York Yankees, Owens at least offered some hope for the future. He limited a powerful Yankee lineup to just one in the first five innings before allowing two hits to open the sixth and getting lifted.
Both of those baserunners came around to score -- part of a parade of Yankees crossing the plate over the final three innings -- and Owens was lefting owning the loss.
Still, there was promise.
"What I thought was impressive,'' said John Farrell of Owens, ''was that he seemed to keep the emotion of the moment under control and made some quality pitches. He settled down and gave us five solid innings of work and gives us a chance.
"But I thought he used his entire pitch mix (well). He used his fastball and changeup combination in good spots. I thought he mixed and matched from the second through the fifth well. So, first time out, it was a solid performance by him.''
Owens was off some in the first, falling behind three straight hitters, resulting in two singles a walk and a run scored.
Boston Red Sox
But after a ground single up the middle to Mark Teixeira, Owens began a run that saw him retire 14-of-15, including 12 in a row at one point.
"I think I was more in the strike zone early (in counts),'' explained Owens. "I fell behind a couple of guys and they got some hits. But when I was ahead, I felt like I was in control.''
It was not an easy environment for Owens, who had to face one of the league's better lineups. Additionally, there was the potential distraction of pitching in Yankee Stadium.
"I looked around when I was warming up,'' said Owens, "and (thought) 'Here I am.' So I tried to embrace (the surroundings) as best I could and kind of have fun at the same time. I wasn't really telling myself I was pitching in my debut; I was trying to tell myself I'm pitching against New York in New York and trying to slow down their hot bats.''
Which he undoubtedly did, if only for a time.
Following a stretch that saw him retire the previous 12 hitters, he got ahead of both Chris Young and Alex Rodriguez 0-and-2 -- only to surrender base hits to both.
"Just couldn't finish them,'' sighed Owens.
"In the sixth inning, they started to sit on some off-speed pitches,'' offered Farrell.
At 96 pitches, that was enough for the night. In the box score, he got the loss. But he left the game with the Red Sox leading and he showed some things in the middle four innings.
He had three 1-2-3 innings and recorded at least one strikeout in four of the five full innings he pitched. The changeup, his best pitch, got some swings-and-misses. There were soft ground balls and mishit popups, enough to suggest that Owens has learned how to attack lineups and vary his looks.
Enough to leave you wanting to see more. His next start will come Saturday in Detroit.
"Hopefully,'' said Owens, "there's more to come.''