Los Angeles Angels left-hander Packy Naughton, a native of West Roxbury, Mass., made his Major League debut on August 8 at Dodger Stadium, tossing one inning of relief, yielding one run on two hits.
That was enough for the Boston Latin alumnus to stick in the majors, and three of his six remaining appearances came against playoff-bound teams. The southpaw held his own through the first four games (2 starts) yielding just 4 earned runs in 14 innings pitched, with a dominating performance on the road against the San Diego Padres that saw the rookie deliver five shutout innings.
Once the Angels were on the outside of the playoff bubble, manager Joe Maddon still kept Naughton in the starting rotation. Between the Chicago White Sox (9/14), Houston Astros (9/21) and Texas Rangers (9/28), Naughton struggled with longevity in each outing. He could not emerge out of the third inning in two starts, while only scratching the fourth inning in the other. He surrendered four earned runs in each game as well, inflating his ERA from 2.57 to 6.35.
New England Baseball Journal recently caught up with Naughton to discuss his trajectory to the big leagues.
