Everything has been under control for Brian Johnson, Saturday's Red Sox starter

BOSTON — Brian Johnson found himself having to step back and take a deep breath just two batters into the game.

Making the second big-league start of his career back in April, Johnson had yielded a leadoff double to Kevin Pillar and fallen behind in the count to Jose Bautista with back-to-back curveballs below the knees. It was an inning that threatened to spiral out of control for a pitcher who a year ago far too often let such innings spiral out of control.

But Johnson regrouped, attacking the strike zone with fastballs and sliders and working his way back into the count. Bautista fouled off five straight pitches, a pair of sliders at the knees that a lesser hitter might have missed, and then swung through a fastball a little bit up in the strike zone -- the 11th pitch of the at-bat.

Pillar wound up scoring on a Kendrys Morales single, but the strikeout of Bautista set the stage for Johnson to get out of the first inning with the game still under control. By the third inning, Johnson’s Red Sox had stormed back to take the lead in a game they’d eventually win.

"Last year, that would have snowballed and would have been a four-pitch walk," Johnson said earlier this week.

"There were times last year when he looked very uncomfortable on the mound when he’d get runners on base," PawSox manager Kevin Boles said. "His overall focus and mound presence, if you watch him now compared to where he was last year, it’s night and day."

Johnson will get his second crack of the season at the major leagues on Saturday at Fenway Park, filling the vacant spot in the starting rotation left when Hector Velazquez was shipped back to Pawtucket. Johnson probably will be one and done with the Red Sox once again, with David Price scheduled to return on Monday.

But Saturday’s start nonetheless gives Johnson a chance to assert himself as Boston’s clear next-best option when the next opportunity arises. That he’s the first pitcher to get a second chance in the big leagues already suggests he’s first in line.

Velazquez fared poorly in a major-league debut in which he yielded six earned runs in five innings at Oakland. Kyle Kendrick likewise was overmatched at the big-league level, hammered for 12 earned runs in 8 1/3 innings in his two big-league starts. Henry Owens hasn’t even been granted an opportunity thanks to the 31 walks he has issued in 42 1/3 innings at Triple-A Pawtucket.

Johnson didn’t exactly dominate in his April start in Toronto, but he kept the game under control -- something neither Kendrick nor Velazquez did in starts with Boston. The Red Sox lost all of the three games Kendrick and Velazquez started.

The way Johnson reined in an ominous-looking first inning in Toronto carried over after his return to Triple-A. A May 9 start against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre saw Johnson yield three runs in the first two innings but slam the door from there, eventually pitching seven strong innings in a game Pawtucket rallied late to win.

"Last year he’d run into some trouble early on in the game and maybe get into the third or fourth inning," Boles said. "He’s gotten into the same situations and been able to wiggle out of damage and get you into the sixth, possibly the seventh inning. Hopefully that can translate up to the big leagues."

Johnson has pitched at times with inconsistent fastball command but has been able to utilize his curveball and slider as weapons.

"My curveball is back to where it was in 2014," he said. "My slider has come a long way. My changeup has been there most of the year."

Elbow soreness forced Johnson to pitch almost exclusively with his curveball in his big-league debut in Houston in 2014. How he’s able to use his curveball in more strategic fashion -- including with his first two pitches to Bautista in that 11-pitch at-bat in Toronto last month.