After four years adrift, Danish makes long-awaited return in Sox loss

Apr. 21—For most in attendance, Wednesday was as unremarkable a night at Fenway Park as they come. The Red Sox went 1 for 14 with runners in scoring position, stranded 11 men on base and never showed any signs of life in a tedious 6-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

But for Tyler Danish, it was a night he'll never forget.

After four years in the proverbial wilderness, the 27-year-old right-hander made his first big league appearance since 2018. Danish came on in the eighth inning and struck out the side, and by the time all was said and done he'd posted two scoreless frames with five strikeouts to close out the game.

"It was a special night," Danish said. "I took a second once we got back out there and kind of looked around, all the hard work, I could visualize everything I've been through and to be standing on the mound at Fenway, four years ago I would have never imagined that would be possible."

Originally drafted by the Chicago White Sox, Danish pitched 13.0 big league innings spread across 2016-18 for the White Sox before spending the next four years fighting his way back. Danish pitched two seasons of independent ball between 2019-20 before earning an opportunity in the Los Angeles Angels system last year.

That led to a non-roster invite to Red Sox camp coming into spring training, and Danish emerged as one of the stories of the preseason. The reinvigorated righty impressed the Red Sox brass and earned a spot on the 40-man roster, and then in the wake of the club's COVID-19 outbreak he was called up from Triple-A Worcester to the big leagues.

While he acknowledged making his return in a win would have been better, he said being able to perform so well after all this time was extremely validating.

"It just shows all the hard work I put in to get back, it gives me even more confidence in the stuff I have and the stuff I've been working on," Danish said. "It's something I dreamed of getting back."

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said afterwards that he's happy for Danish and is intrigued by the possibilities he could bring to the bullpen. He singled out Danish's slider as a unique weapon, saying he can provide a different look that could throw opposing hitters off balance.

"We saw it in spring training the way he kept gaining momentum with his sinker and slider, and he's very intriguing," Cora said. "It's a different angle, something we don't have."

How long Danish sticks around remains to be seen, and once Kevin Plawecki and Jonathan Araúz return from the COVID-19 list he could conceivably be optioned back to Worcester. But not matter what happens next, Wednesday was a major career milestone for the Florida native, one that he can carry with him the rest of his life.

Email: mcerullo@northofboston.com. Twitter: @MacCerullo.