Joba Chamberlain strikes out two in first rehab appearance

Joba Chamberlain saw his first game action today since undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery last season, throwing one inning in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League.

Chamberlain, who’s also coming back from a gruesome ankle injury suffered while jumping on a trampoline in March, struck out two batters and allowed an unearned run on 23 total pitches.

According to New York Newsday his fastball was clocked in the mid-90s, which if true is awfully encouraging for his first appearance.

It’s tough to predict when Chamberlain could be ready to rejoin the Yankees’ bullpen because rarely is a player rehabbing two major injuries at the same time, but the 30-day clock on his minor-league stint is now officially ticking.

The Red Sox and Mariners left nothing on the table Friday night, going head-to-head in a series opener that eventually ended 14-10 in the Sox’ favor. Led by Steven Wright and Wade LeBlanc — neither of whom made it past the fifth inning — the teams combined for 34 hits and four home runs, including two moonshots from Seattle’s Nelson Cruz and a five-run rally that gave Boston the edge in the seventh.

In the sixth inning, however, the Red Sox were still scrambling to make up a four-run deficit. Left fielder J.D. Martinez cut it in half with one swing, pouncing on an 89.5-mph fastball from Seattle right-hander Nick Vincent and posting it to dead center field for a two-run shot.

J.D. lookin' like J.D. pic.twitter.com/BrXmh4fBKL

— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 23, 2018

The 427-foot blast was Martinez’s 23rd of the season, tying Mike Trout for the most home runs in the league this year. While he still has a ways to go before eclipsing the career-best 45-HR mark he set in 2017, he’s off to a strong start this season: Entering Friday’s game, the 30-year-old slugger was batting .315/.386/.623 with a 1.009 OPS and AL-leading 55 RBI in 308 PA. He finished Friday’s game 4-for-5 with five RBI, just one triple shy of hitting for the cycle.

Heading into the All-Star Break, both Martinez and Trout still have some competition for the home run title. Jose Ramirez is sitting at 22 homers, while Nelson Cruz and Khris Davis are tied at 20 apiece.