Generally speaking, you don’t want your expectations to be too high when a young pitcher comes back from injury. Get through five innings. don’t issue too many free pages, limit damage — that’s the best you should hope for. If you want anything more than that, you’re probably setting yourself up for disappointment.
Well, Garrett Whitlock did those three things tonight: he got through five, he didn’t walk any hitters, and he limited damage, allowing just a single solo shot. But if you stop your analysis there, you’ll miss something important: Garrett Whitlock didn’t just come back tonight, he came back as a better pitcher.