Boston Red Sox
Boston trailed by three runs entering the seventh inning. Naturally, it won.
The Boston Red Sox found themselves trailing for much of Saturday’s win.
Coming off Friday’s doubleheader sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays, which extended Boston’s win streak to 11 games, the magic of the last few weeks was on the verge of coming to an end.
The Red Sox were down 2-0 midway through the second inning and again by 6-3 entering the bottom of the seventh following starting pitcher Patrick Sandoval’s rough outing. It felt like an eternity since Boston had to claw out of a significant deficit — perhaps an 11-game win streak would have to suffice.
These Red Sox wouldn’t back down that easily. Not in the middle of this unforgettable stretch.
Newcomer Jahmai Jones eliminated Boston’s initial deficit in the bottom of the second in his first start since being traded earlier in the week. He clubbed his third home run of the season to tie the game at two, just as the team has done consistently for the last month or so whenever it found itself down by a run or two.
What a way to introduce yourself to a fanbase as passionate as the Red Sox faithful.
Wilyer Abreu, as has been customary for the slugger over the last 24 hours, gave Boston a 3-2 lead with his third home run since Friday night when he hit two in Game 2 of the doubleheader. His Saturday solo shot gave the club its second lead of the contest, a testament to the team’s perseverance over this streak of wins.
Sandoval let in a pair of runs in the fourth and another in the seventh to put the Rays up 6-3 to erase the Red Sox’ offensive effort. Embarking on a third comeback in the same game, especially a three-run hole, felt like a tall task.
Evidently, no task is too tall when Abreu is in the lineup.
Following a pair of RBI from Masataka Yoshida and Ceddanne Rafaela to bring Boston within one, Abreu stepped up to the plate looking for a pitch to hit. In sum, he did just that.
The lefty slugger deposited his fourth homer into the Fenway Park stands over his last two games, which made him the first Red Sox player to record back-to-back multi-home run games since Mookie Betts in 2016.
After the game, Abreu was asked to describe his mindset entering that fateful at-bat. He put it as succinctly as possible:
“I just made good contact and the ball just go,” he told NESN’s Jahmai Webster on the field. “Just tried to get a good pitch to hit. … He gave me the right pitch to hit.”
As expected, Abreu’s homer sent Fenway into a total frenzy. There were plenty of happy fans in the crowd despite first pitch being delayed by one hour due to rain.
“The way (the fans) support us is amazing,” Abreu said. “We love playing here. I love playing here. This crowd, I love this crowd. This is amazing playing here.”
Closer Aroldis Chapman was shaky in the ninth inning after putting two runners in scoring position via walks. He ultimately recorded the save to secure Boston’s 12th consecutive victory despite throwing 12 balls on 20 pitches.
This win streak marks the Red Sox’ longest since 2006, and the seventh time the franchise has recorded 12 straight wins in its history.
The club has faced plenty of adversity and completed a handful of stunning come-from-behind wins in those 12 games. In fact, Saturday marked the first time Boston has won after trailing by three runs at any point in a contest.
“When you get a team that’s going the way we are, they believe they can win in any game,” interim manager Chad Tracy said. “Even if you’re down a few runs, they believe they can come back.
“That all stems from the quality of at-bats. They feel like we’re still gonna take a bunch of quality at-bats for the second half of this game. ‘If we can keep the score there, we got a shot.’ And that’s exactly what we did.”
NESN showed chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and Red Sox president Tom Werner celebrating after the final out, as they should be. Likely no one but some within Fenway’s walls could have predicted a turnaround of this caliber.
If Breslow has learned anything watching his team over the past month, he should soon be on the phone working to improve his ball club. The players deserve a chance to meaningfully compete in October again, as does the front office and the fans.
Saturday’s victory gave Boston one game of wiggle room as they hold the American League’s final wild-card spot behind the Minnesota Twins. The Seattle Mariners (1.5 games back) and Baltimore Orioles (2 games back) aren’t far behind, either.
The Red Sox will look to complete a four-game sweep of the Rays and further ascend in the standings at 1:35 p.m. Eastern Time Sunday. Their de facto ace, Sonny Gray, is scheduled to start.
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