|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 5, 2021 17:30:03 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 1h Alex Cora was asked if he would address the Sox before the game:
"There's no rah-rah speeches here. I mean, if you need that, you're in the wrong business. It's Red Sox/Yankees for the chance to advance in the playoffs. We're good."
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 5, 2021 17:32:25 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 3h Kiké Hernández is batting second (as a starter) for the first time since 2019. Presumably, with the lineup shuffle necessitated by absence of Martinez, Sox wanted to split Devers and Schwarber while loading as much offense as possible at the top
Also, with three RHHs at the bottom of the order, having Schwarber in the leadoff spot theoretically shortens the potential run of a dominant right-on-right option
Schwarber is the first Red Sox designated hitter to lead off a postseason game since ... Juan Beniquez in the 1975 ALCS. Beniquez (3-for-12 with 3 singles and a sacrifice) started all three ALCS games as DH that year, as the Sox swept their way past the A's into the World Series.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 5, 2021 17:34:10 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 2h Cora said that for J.D. Martinez not to post, the injury had to be a severe one. He said the ankle is significantly swollen but he’s not on crutches. TBD if Martinez would be able to play in the ALDS should the Sox advance.
Hernández says Cora called him last night to let him know he’d be hitting second. Hernández said he was happy to hit anywhere.
Kiké Hernández on the Yankees having made the choice, in case of a four-way tie, to play the Sox in Boston instead of the Jays in Toronto: ‘We knew about it.’ Said it was understandable given the late-season sweep here but added: ‘They wanted us. They got us. Win or go home.’
Hernández closes with this: “Hopefully we get to pop some bottles tonight.”
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 5, 2021 17:35:49 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 2h Cora on Martinez: ‘J.D. has been stepping on that bag for 10 years. It just happened that he slipped.’
Cora on WC: ‘You have to adjust for this madness…You have to adjust accordingly’ with roster given the one-game setup. ‘You have to make adjustments, but at the same time, it’s like, “This is weird.”’
Cora notes that while he has postseason experience, this one is different from anything he’s been in before.
Cora on bullpen management in postseason: ‘We’re all-in, always.’
Cora, asked about how Jarren Duran and Connor Wong might benefit from being on playoff roster, said that as much as it’s a learning experience, he thought this morning about Ellsbury in 2007 as a reminder that postseason roles can change.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 5, 2021 17:38:50 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 3h Absence of JD Martinez leads to a major shuffle at the top. #RedSox going L-R-L-R-L with Schwarber leading off.
As @redsoxstats noted, first time starting out of the leadoff spot for Hernandez since June 26.
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 2h Alex Cora pregame notes (1/x): - Martinez (left ankle) is 'not great, obviously.' Received treatment on Monday - #RedSox would evaluate Martinez again before the ALDS. 'For him not to post, it's very serious.' - Schwarber leading off to split the lefties atop the lineup - Taylor threw a bullpen Monday - Lefty bullpen decision was Rodriguez over Perez. Looking to match up with Rizzo, Odor, Gallo - 'Just personnel' in terms of leaving Sawamura off the roster. 'Keeping him off, it was a hard one.' #RedSox - Liked Duran and his speed as a possible pinch runner - Barnes on the roster for the breaking ball and his postseason pedigree - Arauz preferred as the extra infielder because he's a switch-hitter, potential shortstop and a plus defender #RedSox
- Wants to keep Hernandez in CF the full game - Sale 'didn't make sense for us' to be available. Cites long-term reality -- Tommy John recovery, three years on his contract - 'I've got a pretty good idea' on who to use for the final 9 outs #RedSox
|
|
|
Post by scrappyunderdog on Oct 5, 2021 19:44:59 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 2h JD Martinez wasn't close to being ready, Cora said. His ankle is badly swollen. If the Sox advance, they hope to add him for the DS.
--Josh Taylor threw a bullpen yesterday and was added. He hasn't pitched in a game since Sept. 22.
--Cora voiced his hope that the fans would give Jose Iglesias a loud cheer when he is introduced. He is ineligible for the roster. I posted this earlier today on MLB-R, but if JD opts out, which I doubt, Devers to DH, Bogaerts to 3B, and signing Iggy to play SS might work. I'm not going to pretend as if he can repeat what he did in September, but he could be a .725 OPS good glove SS. There is value in that, and it would allow us to spend elsewhere.
|
|
|
Post by scrappyunderdog on Oct 5, 2021 20:06:08 GMT -5
As much luck as anything else, but so far, thru 3, Eovaldi has faced Judge with -0- on, Stanton with -0- on, and Judge again with -0- on.
|
|
|
Post by scrappyunderdog on Oct 5, 2021 20:13:27 GMT -5
River Ave. Blues @riveraveblues Yet again, Boone way too slow with the hook. What's the point of an 11-man bullpen if you're going to let him grind through it? ========================================================= This was posted after the Schwarber HR. My guess is that Cole's leg is still bothering him, but the response here seems a little harsh. Were they expecting Boone to pull him after Bogaerts 2-run HR?
|
|
|
Post by scrappyunderdog on Oct 5, 2021 20:18:59 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier The Red Sox are seeing Cole’s pitches very, very well. Don’t know if he’s tipping or, as @markdero7 suggested, he’s become rotational and not hiding the ball, but they’re on all of his pitch types. ============================================= I doubt he's tipping. Cole left the game early on 9/7 with a hamstring problem. His ERA in his final four starts was 6.35. I'm guessing he hasn't fully recovered.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 6, 2021 2:50:32 GMT -5
'It's fun': Sox send rivals packing; ALDS next 2:49 AM ADT Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
BOSTON -- Nathan Eovaldi was at his "Nasty Nate" best in Tuesday night's American League Wild Card showdown with the Yankees, and he looked poised to carry his team through seven innings or so.
But Red Sox manager Alex Cora pulled the plug on his battle-tested righty at his first hint of trouble in the sixth inning.
It would have been a second-guessable moment if it backfired.
However, things tend to have a way of working out in October for Cora, who once again made all the right chess moves in a big game. His Red Sox responded by pulling out a 6-2 victory that vaulted them into the AL Division Series for a matchup with the Rays that will start Thursday night at Tropicana Field.
Eovaldi fired 5 1/3 tremendous innings on only 71 pitches, allowing four hits and a run while walking none and striking out eight.
It isn't really going out on a limb to say that most managers would have kept going with the starter in that situation. But Cora got exactly what he wanted from Eovaldi, and then asked him for the baseball.
Eovaldi walked off to the thunderous ovation he deserved, and Cora asked his 'pen to get him the final 11 outs, clinging to a 3-1 lead at the time.
"Nate was great," said Cora. "When I went to the mound, he gave me this look, like, 'What are you doing?' It's a tough game to manage, of course. If it's a five-game or seven-game series, we'll keep him there. But the way our bullpen was and the way we feel about them, I felt like that was the time."
Begrudgingly, Eovaldi understood. Perhaps that's because he watched Cora make similar maneuvers three Octobers ago.
"It's definitely frustrating, but obviously I understand the situation and everything," said Eovaldi, who slimmed his career postseason ERA to 1.63 in seven appearances. "Third time through the lineup, it's tough. Batters seeing you for the third time, they have a better understanding of what you're going to do and a better idea of how you're going to attack them. I get it."
Ryan Brasier -- one of the 2018 heroes -- was first up in relief, and he got some help from his friends in the field. Giancarlo Stanton hit a rocket that just missed being a homer and it caromed high off the Monster. Kiké Hernández fielded the carom, then Xander Bogaerts took in the relay throw and fired a strike to the plate, where Kevin Plawecki tagged out Aaron Judge, again taking Fenway to the highest decibel levels possible.
Nobody had a bigger sigh of relief at the end of that perfectly executed play than Cora.
Have the latest news, ticket information, and more from the Red Sox and MLB delivered right to your inbox.
"We almost got burned, but Kiké made a great play and [Plawecki] a great tag, and then after that, everyone settled down and we got 27 outs," said Cora.
Of all the things Cora missed during his one-year suspension, which included a departure from the Red Sox before he was rehired, managing in October was at the top of the list.
"It's fun," said Cora. "This is why you want to be a big league manager. I just got lucky that in 2018, I had a great team and we did what we did. Obviously 2019 didn't go the way we wanted, and in 2020, we all know what happened. But to be able to play in October, we're blessed."
Cora loves the game-to-game decisions -- and not just the bullpen ones. Much of his best work comes before the bright lights come on.
Prior to the game, knowing he was without star slugger J.D. Martinez (sprained left ankle), Cora tinkered with his lineup. Kyle Schwarber moved to leadoff, flip-flopping with Hernández, who went to the two-hole. Schwarber had one of the biggest hits of the game, a towering solo homer to right in the bottom of the third that helped lead to an early knockout for Gerrit Cole, the $324 million ace of the Yankees.
While he was at it, Cora flipped his 3-4 combo, putting Rafael Devers third and Bogaerts fourth.
There was Devers working a key two-out walk in the bottom of the first. And there was Bogaerts, bashing a slump-busting two-run homer to center.
"This is the first time with Kyle hitting leadoff and Kiké hitting second, and we had to do it because of the situation we're in," said Cora. "And right away, they pitch around Raffy and they pay the price. Xander put a great swing on a slider and hit it out of the ballpark, and Kyle hit the home run. I think the top of the order was amazing today. It's what they do."
And this is what Cora does. The last time Cora managed in October, he guided the Red Sox to a World Series championship with a dominant run in 2018. That team was expected to do huge things.
This year's club wasn't. Go back to the preseason prognostications in basically every publication for proof of that.
But with Cora back and getting the most out of his team, they are back in the postseason and looking dangerous.
The Red Sox are sure to be underdogs in the best-of-five series that awaits against the Rays. But with Cora at the helm, you never know what might happen.
Before shifting his attention to that, Cora reflected briefly on the grind of clinching a postseason berth on the final day of the regular season in a wild comeback at Washington on Sunday, followed by all the pressure of Tuesday.
"I thought [Game] 162 the other day was the most uncomfortable game to manage in my career," said Cora. "This tops it. This was something different."
That said, the result was quite familiar -- one Cora has become accustomed to in the most crucial month of the baseball calendar.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 6, 2021 3:46:15 GMT -5
Bogaerts directs momentum with bat, arm 3:26 AM ADT Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
BOSTON -- Just five days before the ultra-pressurized American League Wild Card Game Tuesday night between the Red Sox and the Yankees, shortstop Xander Bogaerts was down -- his bat had gone silent at the worst possible time of year.
But he offered this as hope: “You can’t keep a good guy down long,” Bogaerts said after a loss in Baltimore on Sept. 30.
No, you can’t.
With Bogaerts taking center stage a couple of times, the Red Sox pulled out a satisfying 6-2 victory at Fenway Park that vaulted them to the Division Series for a date with the Tampa Bay Rays, starting with Game 1 on Thursday night at Tropicana Field.
Bogaerts, the longest-tenured member of the Red Sox, came out swinging and throwing.
Backed by an opening salvo -- Bogaerts smashing a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole -- the Red Sox were able to play with the lead the rest of the night.
“The Bogaerts homer in the first inning, I mean, talk about a pop -- and the crowd went nuts, and you feed off that energy,” said Red Sox designated hitter Kyle Schwarber. “You thrive for that, and Red Sox Nation brought it tonight. We needed it, and you can't say enough about the crowd tonight.”
You also can’t say enough about the well-timed resurgence of the veteran shortstop.
Consider that in the final nine games of the regular season, Bogaerts generated just five hits in 32 at-bats -- none for extra bases.
“I mean, you’re just one swing away,” said Bogaerts. “And understanding that the type of hitter that you are, the type of player that you are, and being realistic with yourself, sometimes it takes just one swing.”
This was one fierce swing. Bogaerts obliterated a 2-2 changeup by Cole at an exit velocity of 108.1 mph and a projected distance of 427 feet, per Statcast.
“I was kind of looking for an offspeed pitch, more of a slider, but I guess I was on time for the changeup,” said Bogaerts. “It stayed pretty middle. I was lucky he didn't throw me a fastball because he probably would have blown my hands up. Getting on board, giving us two runs right there was huge.”
It was not only gratifying for Bogaerts to take his best swing in weeks at such a crucial time, but also for his teammates, who watch the way he leads by example every day.
“This game can kick you in the butt sometimes where you can be going really good and then you show up the next day and you don't know what this thing is in your hands. It's a crazy game,” said Schwarber. “But to see the work that guy puts in on a daily basis, to be able to put himself in a great position tonight, and a game that it was a ‘win or go home’ game, it means a lot to us as a team.
“And he is the guy who has been here through multiple championships, and to see him step up tonight and do it, it is phenomenal. You can't say enough good things about Bogaerts. You can't say enough good things about what he brings to our ballclub.”
When the Yankees tried to come storming back after Nathan Eovaldi’s somewhat unexpected exit in the sixth (71 pitches, one earned run, no walks, eight strikeouts), Bogaerts came up with a big play on defense.
For the second time in the game, Giancarlo Stanton hit a rocket that looked poised to soar over the Monster but instead bounced high off it.
Center fielder Kiké Hernández fielded the carom and made a one-hop relay throw, which Bogaerts picked and then fired a bullet home to nail Aaron Judge as Fenway roared with approval.
“That was better than a homer for me, personally,” said Bogaerts. “I mean, if that run scores, it's 3-2. Stanton is at second base, the whole momentum is on their side. The dugout is getting pumped up.
"As Judge was out at home, I saw Stanton was pretty mad. He probably wanted a homer there but also an RBI, and he didn't get that, and he probably felt like he didn't do much because that run didn't score. But that changed the game. That changed the momentum big time.”
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 6, 2021 4:12:57 GMT -5
Red Sox dominate Yankees to win AL Wild Card Game By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated October 5, 2021, 11:24 p.m.
Amid the dizzying discussions of postseason scenarios that hovered over the final days of the regular season, a particularly intriguing possibility took shape.
Had there been a four-way tie among the Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Mariners, the Sox and Jays would have been awarded hosting duties for two Games 163. The Yankees, by virtue of a better record than Seattle, had the choice of whether they’d prefer to play on the road in Boston or Toronto. Early on Sunday, the Yankees chose the Red Sox as their preferred opponent.
The four-way tie didn’t materialize. The Sox and Yankees won on Sunday, clinching outright wild-card berths and a meeting at Fenway. But it wasn’t lost on the Sox that the matchup was one the Yankees had identified as their postseason preference.
“We knew about it,” Sox center fielder Kiké Hernández said on Tuesday afternoon. “They wanted us and they got us now. So, win or go home.”
On Tuesday, the Yankees went home, while the Red Sox — in the first win-or-go-home Wild Card Game in franchise history — delivered a dominating 6-2 win to advance to the Division Series against Tampa Bay. The victory represented the first home postseason clincher for the Sox since 2013, and improved them to 8-1 against the Yankees in postseason meetings dating to the 2004 ALCS.
Fenway surged with its most electric atmosphere in years. Player introductions of the rivals brought impassioned reactions that elevated further when NESN analyst Jerry Remy threw out the first pitch to longtime teammate and broadcast partner Dennis Eckersley.
The crowd of 38,324 remained standing through the first inning, turning raucous when Nate Eovaldi escaped — after a two-out single smashed off the Wall by Giancarlo Stanton — by striking out Joey Gallo on a nosediving splitter.
After Yankees starter Gerrit Cole — struggling with his command out of the gate — issued a two-out walk, he fell behind Xander Bogaerts, 2 and 1, on a curveball and two sliders.
Untrusting of his fastball, Cole attempted a right-on-right changeup, a pitch he seldom uses but that tends to be effective (.118 average, .148 slugging percentage by righties) when he does. But in this instance, the pitch sat squarely in the middle of the strike zone.
The Red Sox shortstop sent a 427-foot rocket into the center-field bleachers for a 2-0 lead. His third career postseason homer brought the crowd to a crescendo that did not abate against the rattled Cole.
“For the guy who’s been here through multiple championships to step up and do it tonight, you can’t say enough good things about him,” said Kyle Schwarber of Bogaerts.
Though Cole worked around a Kevin Plawecki double in the second, the Sox looked comfortable against all of his pitches by the time they started their second tour through the order in the third.
Schwarber, pressed into leadoff duty by a lineup overhaul necessitated by the loss of J.D. Martinez, obliterated an elevated 97-mile-per-hour fastball from Cole. His seventh career postseason homer sailed over the Yankees’ bullpen, crashing in the right-field bleachers an estimated 435 feet later, giving the Sox a 4-1 lead.
When Hernández followed with an infield single and Cole walked Rafael Devers for the second time, Yankees manager Aaron Boone employed a stunningly swift hook of his ace. In 13 postseason outings entering the Wild Card Game, Cole had never thrown fewer than five innings. On Tuesday, he lasted just two, tied with a pair of clunkers as a Pirate in 2016 for the shortest start of his career.
“For us to get him out that early, it was a huge win for us,” said Schwarber.
Reliever Clay Holmes staved off a blowout by striking out Bogaerts and getting Alex Verdugo to ground into a double play. Still, the three-run advantage seemed sizable given the work of the Sox starter.
Eovaldi, the most dominant Red Sox force of the 2018 postseason, once again looked the part of an October difference-maker. On a night when he was throwing harder than at any point this year, averaging a season-high 98.0 m.p.h. on his four-seam fastball, Eovaldi also showed feel for his other four pitches. The result was dominance, with Eovaldi cruising through five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts.
“Nate was amazing,” said manager Alex Cora.
But after he fanned pinch hitter Rougned Odor to open the sixth, the third time through the order began inauspiciously. Leadoff hitter Anthony Rizzo sent a towering solo homer inside the Pesky Pole to put the Yankees on the board, and Aaron Judge followed by tapping an infield single.
In another era, Eovaldi, who was at just 71 pitches, would have continued. But this is the era of Snell-ing, in which the manager’s responsibility is to pull a starter before potential disaster rather than in response to an actual one.
And so, Cora called for Ryan Brasier to face Stanton.
“He looked at me like, ‘What are you doing?’ ” said Cora of Eovaldi.
The move almost catalyzed catastrophe, as Stanton nearly knocked down the Wall in left-center with a 115-m.p.h. rocket.
Yet the Red Sox benefited from the ferocity of the blast. Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin waved Judge to the plate. But the ricochet off the Wall came so quickly and forcefully that, though the ball careened past left fielder Verdugo, Hernández — alertly backing up — had time to make a one-hop throw to the infield, where Bogaerts patiently relayed the ball to the plate to cut down Judge.
“Play of the game,” said Schwarber.
Gifted an out, Brasier ended the sixth by retiring Gallo on a popup. The Sox quickly restored their three-run lead in the bottom of the inning, as Verdugo drilled a double to right off Luis Severino to score Bogaerts and put the Sox ahead, 4-1.
One inning later, after a scoreless inning from Tanner Houck, Verdugo broke the game open, lining a two-out, two-run single to left-center to push the lead to 6-1. From there, a scoreless eighth from Hansel Robles and a one-run ninth by rookie Garrett Whitlock, a former Yankees prospect whom the Sox selected from New York in the Rule 5 draft last December, represented game-ending formalities.
On Thursday, the Sox will open their ALDS against the Rays, one of just eight teams remaining in the playoff tournament. The Yankees will start contemplating a dissatisfying end and a winter of change.
“Sometimes it looks horrible, but 93 times this year it hasn’t looked horrible, so we’re going to keep rolling,” said Cora. “Now we go to the next one, and we’ve just got to be ready to face a great baseball team … We have a huge challenge. But we’re ready for it.”
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 6, 2021 4:14:55 GMT -5
Nate Eovaldi, revered for gutsy relief effort in World Series loss, now is a worthy winner By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated October 6, 2021, 12:44 a.m.
Nate Eovaldi’s epic relief work at Dodger Stadium in Game 3 of the 2018 World Series is still spoken about in reverent terms by his Red Sox teammates.
The righthander entered the game in the 12th inning and went six-plus innings under incredible pressure before Max Muncy homered leading off the bottom of the 18th inning.
The Sox won the next two games to take the Series and to a man said Eovaldi’s performance had inspired them.
But here’s the thing: Nobody wants to be remembered for a loss.
Eovaldi chiseled a better line on his postseason record on Tuesday night, pitching five strong innings as the Red Sox beat the Yankees, 6-2, in the American League Wild Card Game.
This time Eovaldi was a winner in a big game and that’s far better than being a worthy loser.
“It’s definitely a much better feeling,” he said. “I’ll really cherish this one.”
Eovaldi allowed one run on four hits and struck out eight without a walk to deliver the Sox into Game 1 of the Division Series at Tampa Bay on Thursday night.
“He was amazing,” manager Alex Cora said.
Eovaldi retired 11 in a row and had a shutout going in the sixth inning when Anthony Rizzo homered to right field. When Aaron Judge reached on an infield hit, Cora went to the bullpen even though Eovaldi had thrown only 71 pitches.
He didn’t want to take a chance with Giancarlo Stanton coming up.
“When I went to the mound he gave me a look like, ‘What are you doing?’” Cora said.
“But it’s just such a tough game to manage because if he stays there and [Stanton] hits a home run, then we felt our bullpen was ready to get the rest of the game.”
Said Eovaldi: “Definitely frustrating but I understand the situation.”
Cora got a little lucky. Facing Ryan Brasier, Stanton hit a rocket off the wall in center. But the Sox executed a perfect relay to get Judge at the plate as shortstop Xander Bogaerts made a perfect throw.
Four relievers combined to allow one run over 3 innings to wrap up the game. The Yankees didn’t score again until there was one out in the ninth inning when Stanton wrapped a home run around the Pesky Pole.
It was a minor annoyance on a night that Sox pitchers struck out 11 without a walk and held the Yankees to six hits.
Eovaldi faced the Yankees seven times this season in all. Tuesday was the sixth time he went at least five innings and allowed two or fewer runs.
But he had allowed seven runs on seven hits over only 2 innings against the Yankees at Fenway on Sept. 24.
“He’s so calm. When he shows up to the ballpark, he’s the same guy when he pitches and when he doesn’t. He was waiting for this one,” Cora said. “They did an amazing job [on Sept. 24]. They took some pitches away, they hunted pitches in certain spots and they did damage. We learned a lot from that.”
Eovaldi, who has five pitches, stayed largely with fastballs, curveballs, and sliders. His fastball averaged 98 miles per hour.
Eovaldi said he established his fastball inside, which made his off-speed pitches more effective.
“For him to pitch that way, they know him. They know him and he was great,” Cora said.
Eovaldi has appeared in seven postseason games for the Sox. He has a 1.63 earned run average over 27 innings and has struck out 24 with three walks. The Sox are 6-1 in those games.
“He’s just a great person,” Cora said. “He’s not only a great pitcher but he’s a great person. He cares about everybody; the way he goes about it in the training room, in the weight room, when he doesn’t pitch, he’s a plus.
“We had the right guy on the mound today.”
In a game with numerous contributors, it was Eovaldi who got the Sox started.
“That’s exactly what we needed out of the guy,” teammate Kyle Schwarber said. “He came out and delivered.”
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 6, 2021 4:17:43 GMT -5
Red Sox had perfect execution in sending Yankees packing in AL Wild Card Game By Dan Shaughnessy Globe Columnist,Updated October 5, 2021, 11:53 p.m.
It was Throwback Tuesday at ancient Fenway, featuring the Red Sox and Yankees jousting in a one game wild-card duel for the right to play in the 2021 American League Division Series. Winner moves on. Loser goes home. History, honor and hardball heartache were all in play. It was just like the old days of 2004, 2003, 1978 and 1949. The ghost of Babe Ruth hovered over Fenway.
“No need for rah-rah speeches,’’ said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “It’s Red Sox-Yankees with a chance to advance.’’
“I think this game is going to be very good for baseball,’’ said Sox center fielder Kiké Hernández. “We’ve dealt with adversity all year long. We’re going to find a way to win this game.’’
It was very good for baseball and even better for the oft-maligned Red Sox, who thrashed the hated Yankees, 6-2, and advanced to a best-of-five American League Division Series against the 100-win Tampa Bay Rays starting Thursday in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Sox will be underdogs, which seems to be just the way these guys like it.
“This is why you want to be a big league manager,’’ said Sox skipper Alex Cora, who has pulled off an amazing comeback after serving a year in exile for his part in the Houston Astros cheating scandal. " . . . To be able to play in October, we’re blessed. And that’s a great group of guys. Now we go on to the next one.’’
The Yankees had a significant number of fans at Fenway and some cosmic karma in the one-game bakeoff. Bucky Dent (a.k.a. Bucky Bleeping Dent), who hit the home run that buried the mighty Sox in the one-game bakeoff in 1978, was at the yard, predicting a Yankee victory, and casting his spell over the proceedings. Meanwhile, Monday evening’s number for the Massachusetts Lottery was a creepy 1-9-7-8. Fate seemed to be favoring the hated visitors.
Even the Yankee dugout had history dogging the Sox. New York manager Aaron Boone (Aaron Bleeping Boone) famously foiled the 2003 Red Sox with a walkoff home run off Tim Wakefield.
“I have a strong appreciation for having a moment in such a special rivalry,’’ said Boone. “Bucky and I do signings together. We share the middle name [Bleeping] together . . . maybe someone else will have a moment. Hopefully for the [Pin] Stripers.’’
None of it mattered as the Red Sox pantsed the bloated Pinstripers for the full nine innings. Cora’s team was hungrier and better-prepared, routing Yankee starter Gerrit Cole, bolting to a 3-0 lead after three, and blowing it open with three more runs in the sixth and seventh to the delight of 38,324.
“Red Sox Nation brought it tonight,’’ said Sox DH Kyle Schwarber.
Counter-punching Bucky and Boonie, the Sox brought out hometown hero and cancer battler Jerry Remy for a ceremonial first pitch to Dennis Eckersley. It was Remy’s first appearance at Fenway since he left the broadcast booth in early August. Both Remy and Eck were members of the ill-fated 1978 Red Sox.
The Sox got off to a great start in the bottom of the first when regal, de facto team captain Xander Bogaerts, owner of two World Series rings, spanked a two-run homer to center on a 2-and-1 pitch from the Yankees $324 million starter, Cole.
It was what every Boston fan was hoping for. An early lead figured to be important in this game.
Cole was a puddle. He got through the second, then surrendered a long leadoff homer to Schwarber in the third. Down, 3-0, Cole gave up an infield single, then walked Rafael Devers and was pulled. Two-plus innings. Pathetic. Three hundred and twenty four million dollars simply doesn’t buy what it used to buy. If George Steinbrenner was alive, he’d have said Cole “spit the bit.’’
“Gerrit’s one of the best in the game,’’ said Schwarber. “For us to get him out early, that was only positive for us.’’
Meanwhile, Sox starter Nate Eovaldi stood tall, blanking the Bronx Bombers for the first five innings and taking a 3-0 lead into the sixth.
Yankee Anthony Rizzo, a Theo Epstein draftee who was dealt to acquire Cooler Adrian Gonzalez 10 years ago, hit a solo homer to make it 3-1 with one out in the sixth. After an Aaron Judge single, Eovaldi was lifted (dumb, but this is analytics baseball in 2021 and they take good pitchers out before they face a lineup for a third time). Head-tilting Ryan Brasier came on to face Yankee slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who hit 59 homers in a season for the Marlins, and crushed three bombs when the Yankees swept the Sox at Fenway last month.
Stanton hit a bazooka blast to left-center that would have been a homer in 29 other big league parks. The laser was blocked by the Green Monster and a terrific relay from Hernández to Bogaerts to catcher Kevin Plawecki erased Judge at the plate. It was the biggest play of the game and a crucial great save for Cora, who had pulled the dominant Eovaldi (four hits, eight strikeouts, no walks) after only 71 pitches.
“He gave me a look when I came out to get him,’’ said Cora. “He was like, ‘what are you doing?’’'
The Sox got the run back in the bottom of the sixth when Alex Verdugo doubled home Bogaerts. An inning later, a bases-loaded single by Verdugo produced two more runs to make it 6-1. The Red Sox were home free.
This was the first winner-take-all match involving the Red Sox and Yankees since the seventh game of the iconic 2004 American League Championship Series when the Sox rallied from a three-games-to-none deficit and won four straight, advancing to the World Series (which they won for the first time since 1918) with an “easy” 10-3 victory.
It should be noted that at the end of a frenetic regular season, when it appeared that there might be a three, or even four-way tie for the wild-card entry, the Yankees were asked to choose who they would rather play in a pre-wild card play-in game. Boston? Or Toronto? The Yankees said they would rather play Boston.
When this was mentioned to Hernández before Tuesday’s game, the veteran said, “We knew about it. We don’t really talk about it. They wanted us and they got us now.’’
The Yankees wanted Boston. They got Boston. Now they are done for the season.
And the Red Sox are going to the American League Division Series.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Oct 6, 2021 4:19:51 GMT -5
The Red Sox knew Kiké Hernández could be more than a utility player By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated October 5, 2021, 9:08 p.m.
Kiké Hernández was the fun-loving little brother on the Dodgers. The “rally banana” utility player on a team of stars, as Red Sox manager Alex Cora called him.
The Sox saw Hernández as being much more than that when they signed him to a two-year, $14 million contract in January.
“I wanted people to recognize him for what he brings from 7 to 10 p.m.,” Cora said Tuesday before the American League Wild Card Game against the Yankees.
It went beyond those hours. Cora also wanted Hernández to take on a leadership role with the Sox to compensate for the departure of players such as Mookie Betts, Brock Holt, and Mitch Moreland.
It was a big ask and Hernández delivered. He had a .786 OPS over 134 games — .832 in the second half — with a career-best 58 extra-base hits, 84 runs, and 60 RBIs.
Hernández also provided high-quality defense at two disparate positions, center field and second base.
The Sox intended to use Hernández mainly at second base, but 81 of his 130 starts came in center field. Hernández had 14 defensive runs saved, third among all center fielders. The leader, Michael A. Taylor of the Royals, had 19 but played 470 more innings.
“Kiké has been a rock in center field,” said Nate Eovaldi, who started for the Red Sox on Tuesday.
Cora first watched Hernández play when he was a Little Leaguer in Puerto Rico. Cora knew this was possible and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was on board with the idea.
“We have some good players. But the way he impacts the game offensively [and] defensively has been amazing,” Cora said.
As evidence, Cora pointed to Friday’s game at Washington when Hernández saved a run in the fourth inning with a diving scoop to rob Andrew Stevenson of a single in a game the Red Sox went on to win, 4-2.
“He changed that weekend with that play,” Cora said. “And he hasn’t played second; he’s been playing center field for a month. He goes to second base, and he makes probably the biggest play defensively of our team.”
Off the field, the 30-year-old Hernández utilized his experience with the Dodgers to take on a prominent role in the clubhouse.
“I understand my qualities as a person, and as a teammate. And you know one of the things is to keep things light. And I like to make people laugh. I like to make people feel happy and feel comfortable,” he said.
“I understand that I have a lot of experience in this situation. I take a lot of pride in leading by example. I do things the professional way, do things right. Play the game the right way, play hard at all times. Respect my teammates, respect everybody in the clubhouse.
“And I’ll say as a leader, I’m more of a leader by example than vocally. But yeah, I’m here for my teammates. Whatever I can do to make this team better, to help this team win.”
With the Dodgers, Hernández was around high-character players such as Chase Utley and Justin Turner, and a manager in Dave Roberts who fostered a winning atmosphere. Hernández also pointed to David Freese as an influence.
Hernández joined the Dodgers via trade when he was 23 and soaked up all he could.
“One thing as a veteran guy, it’s very important to feel that you’re approachable and make guys feel comfortable,” he said. “As a younger guy coming up, sometimes there are guys that have a lot of time that have done a lot for the game or whatever. And they’re not always the most open or approachable guys.
“Those are the guys that you’re a little bit hesitant to come talk to. And I try not to be that way. I try to make everybody feel comfortable. Make everybody feel like I’m here for them at any time for whatever it needs to be, and that’s me.”
As the Red Sox transitioned from the 2018 group, Cora saw Hernández being a bridge to build another contender.
“The way he prepares has been great. He brought a lot from previous experiences. His relationship with Utley has put him at a different level,” the manager said. “And this is from preparation on the field, off the field. And it was a great signing by Chaim and the group. I knew he was a good player.
“I’m very proud of him. He’s been amazing for us.”
|
|