Boston Red Sox
“It was crazy. The ending was just crazy.”
COMMENTARY
For eight innings Saturday, it simply wasn’t the Red Sox’ or Wilyer Abreu’s night.
The offense struggled mightily through seven, then stranded the bases loaded in the eighth against the Giants’ bullpen. Abreu was 0 for 4 with four strikeouts. In a different season, under different circumstances, it may have simply not been in the cards.
But this team is different. Since late June, the Red Sox have simply refused to lose. This was one of their most dramatic wins yet, as they rallied to outlast the Giants, 3-2, on a walk-off fielder’s choice from Abreu.
“We’ve been that way for a while now,” said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. “We might lose, but you’re going to get our best, all the way down to the last strike, the last pitch.”
Caleb Durbin walked and Jahmai Jones was hit by a pitch to start the ninth. Andruw Monasterio moved Durbin to third on a fielder’s choice, then Eli White plated Durbin on a single to center. Nick Sogard smashed a double to left to drive in Monasterio. San Francisco intentionally walked Ceddanne Rafaela to load the bases and Abreu hit a sharp grounder to first.
White was barely safe, as Andrew Knizner’s foot came off the plate by a matter of inches, but it was enough to cement a thrilling victory. After a crew-chief review, White was confirmed safe to cue part two of a rowdy celebration.
“They ripped my jersey, so if they overturned the play, I probably would have had to go back to my locker to grab another one,” Abreu said. “It was crazy. The ending was just crazy.”
Here are five takeaways from a wild one at Fenway Park:
It’s how you finish
Abreu appeared out of sorts all night and didn’t look like himself. When he got his chance with the game on the line, he didn’t squander it. His goal was to put the ball in play and give his team an opportunity, and that’s exactly what he did.
“I tried to relax myself so I could forget about what happened, forget about all the strikeouts,” Abreu said.
It’s rare for a player who finished 0 for 5 with four strikeouts to be interviewed postgame, but Abreu earned it by delivering in the clutch.
This was the second walk-off RBI of his career, with the other also coming on a fielder’s choice last year.
Swingin’ Sogard
There were many key moments in the comeback, but Sogard’s double was arguably the biggest.
After snaring a line drive with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, he stepped up with runners on first and second in a one-run game and delivered.
“That was cool,” Sogard said. “I’ve had a few at-bats late in games when the crowd is going like that. That’s probably the biggest hit I’ve had in one of those moments, so that was cool, for sure.”
Sogard also singled in the third and walked in the sixth and eighth, matching a career high in times on base and extending his hitting streak to five games.
“The at-bat quality has been excellent at both sides of the plate since he’s been back,” Tracy said. “He’s been awesome.”
White also deserves credit for his hit and his hustle home on the final play. Having a clutch baserunner to make sound decisions late in tight games goes a long way.
Plucky Patrick
The ninth inning carried plenty of excitement, but early on, there wasn’t much excitement for Red Sox fans.
Starter Patrick Sandoval struggled early, surrendering a solo shot to Willy Adames in the first and another to Knizner in the third. He nearly unraveled entirely, as the Giants loaded the bases after that, but Sandoval escaped without any further damage.
He then settled in with a 1-2-3 fourth and fifth, finishing the night in solid fashion (5 ⅔, 5 hits, 2 runs, 6 strikeouts, 93 pitches, 60 strikes).
Sandoval has allowed two earned runs or fewer in six of his eight starts this season. While he hasn’t been dominant, he’s given them a chance more often than not outside of Sunday’s dud against the Pirates.
“He bent today, didn’t break,” Tracy said. “He kept himself in the game, kept us in the game.”
Sharp Blade
Giants starter Blade Tidwell, who allowed six earned runs Sunday against the Rockies, bounced back convincingly against the Red Sox.
Boston hitters were consistently late on pitches and didn’t generate many chances against the 6-foot-3-inch right-hander. Tidwell fanned Rafaela and Abreu (0 for 4 with four strikeouts on the night) in the first and escaped from a first-and-second jam in the third by striking out Abreu again.
Tidwell went 5 ⅔ innings, giving up just three hits and striking out seven in a strong all-around showing. The Red Sox, who sometimes fare better the second and third time through the order, generated little to no momentum Saturday night until their late game-heroics.
Rapid relief
Greg Weissert replaced Sandoval with two outs in the sixth and escaped from a jam. He kept it rolling in the seventh, then Jovani Morán and Wyatt Olds teamed up in the eighth and Olds escaped in the ninth.
The Red Sox, who entered with a Major League-best 2.94 bullpen ERA, continued to excel in that facet of the game.
They gave the offense a shot, and they almost capitalized in the eighth. Mickey Gasper smoked a double to right, Sogard walked, and Rafaela lined a single to left to load the bases with no outs. Abreu and Contreras struck out, and Adley Rutschman flew out to center field to end the threat.
“We want to cash those in, but at the same time, I think we have a relentless offense,” Sogard said. “We have our few big boppers, but other than that, we’re just scrapping at-bats. It feels like we’re not far from getting two or three baserunners on at any time, at any moment.”
When it happened again in the ninth, this time they finished the job. This team just doesn’t quit.
That’s four walk-off wins and 31 comeback victories. They’re now 33-11 in their last 44 and showing no signs of slowing down.
The goal is always to win in October, but regardless of how the rest of the season shakes out, this has been a summer to remember in Boston.
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