BOSTON – As Alex Verdugo prepared for what ended up being the highlight of Saturday’s thriller at Fenway Park, he could feel the blood boiling a bit.
With the winning throw in the second and two outs at the end of the ninth, the Indians threw to Rafael Devers, but not really. They walked him for four throws and it was obviously for the design. They took the same approach with JD Martinez, indicating the intentional step after falling behind in the 2-0 lead.
The reason for this was so obvious: Verdugo had a .525 OPS against the leftists this season as he put himself on the set against Indians Alex Young.
After rolling weakly over the first throw and touching it at the first baseline, Verdugo reunited. He got a 1-2 cutter he liked and hit him on the head of right-hander Daniel Johnson to get a single that started a mob scene between the first and second, where Verdugo’s teammates celebrated the big hit which created a 4-3 victory for the Red Sox over the Indians.
“Yeah, I think we’re all competitors,” Verdugo said. “We all have things that make us dial or make us turn on or off. That was one of them. You never want to be the type for whom they load the bases or intentionally walk someone to get to you. I took it personally. it helped to close a little more and I wanted to do it a lot more ”.
Undoubtedly, it was a sweet victory for the Red Sox, who quickly made up for the disappointment of Adam Ottavino who gave up a 3-0 lead at the top of the ninth, marked by a goal scorer who arrived when Boston took a hit. far from victory.
Last month, when things weren’t going well for the Red Sox, this adverse situation at the top of the ninth could have forced them to give up.
But the atmosphere has changed in September. The Red Sox (79-59) have won four in a row, thriving in the past four days despite an outbreak that currently has nine players on the COVID-19-related injury list.
The win pushed Boston just half a game behind New York (78-57) for first place on the Wild Card and four games ahead of Oakland (74-62) for second place.
With no key players like Xander Bogaerts, Kiké Hernández and high-leverage unloaders Matt Barnes, Hirokazu Sawamura and Josh Taylor, manager Alex Cora’s team combines a solid execution with sand, a strong initial throw and a relief from the ‘clutch.
“We are playing a different baseball brand, which is fantastic. I do not care. We are playing, we are making throws, we keep the line moving “, said Cora. “We are doing everything to maximize our training. These are not names. This is a team, right? ”
Commercial acquisition Kyle Schwarber has led the recent charge with one batting quality after another.
With the game without scores with two starts at the end of the seventh, Schwarber – a base machine – worked on foot and passed the baton to Rafael Devers.
Devers, known for his free swing approach, had three good catches to work the full count with two runners at the bottom of the seventh inning. At the 3-2 throw, Devers was about to grab and tear when Indian reliever Blake Parker got too much of the plate.
His three-run shot got a goalless draw and caused the kind of deafening roar in Fenway Park that could probably be heard around Lansdowne Street, Kenmore Square and Jersey Street.
For Devers, he was the 33rd homer and reached 100 RBI when he crossed the plate home. Is it possible that Schwarber is rubbing Devers?
“Yes, he has been a great help since he arrived here. We’re learning a lot from him and just beating him up in front of me, I’m just trying to see the way they throw him, because they’ll probably make me pretty similar too, ”Devers said. “I just try to get good bats and do what I can when I’m on the plate, but it’s been a big help for this team overall.”
Tanner Houck put the offense in a position to advance by firing five closed innings. Throwing just 68 pitches, Houck allowed three hits, walked none and scored seven.
Hansel Robles took Austin Davis out of trouble in the seventh. Philips Valdez, who played a major role in the bullpen, threw two perfect innings. And even when Ottavino didn’t get away with it, the offense left him disconnected.
“I think the most important thing is that everyone trusts others,” Verdugo said. “Our initial pitchers know that our bullring is short, so they stepped up and have been trying. The guys we have in our bullring are huge and do their job, and I just think it comes from everywhere.
“At the beginning of the year we were very good … if we fell or gave up leadership, we wouldn’t care. We knew that at some point, seventh, eighth, ninth inning, we would be back. Our boys will go back to the beach and they have to take us out too, and it starts to feel like this again ”.