In four games since their forced exile from the Roman (Anthony) Empire, the Red Sox haven’t been the same.
They flew to Arizona to face a sub-.500 Diamondbacks team, and spent nearly the entire weekend struggling.
Until the late innings on Sunday, when the offense finally found its spark again and staved off a sweep with a 7-4 win, 600th victory of Alex Cora’s managerial career.
Ryne Nelson became the fourth opposing starter in a row to hold the Boston bats to one run over six innings. Beginning in the second, the Red Sox put the leadoff man on three innings in a row; a lone run in the fourth was all they had to show for it. Three of the four double plays ground into in the first three and a half innings belonged to Boston batters.
Brayan Bello made it through six innings, but his frames were not without difficulties. Within the first four innings, the Diamondbacks took two leads because of wild pitches. For the third game in a row, Arizona scored first, within the first two frames.
While the Red Sox failed to capitalize on their early opportunities, Corbin Carroll created one for himself. Having led off the bottom of the fourth with a single, he advanced to second on Jake McCarthy’s groundout, then stole third and scored the go-ahead run on Bello’s second wild pitch.
With help from their hosts, the Red Sox took their first lead since Anthony’s injury. Ryan Thompson hit Trevor Story with a pitch to begin the seventh. The Diamondbacks challenged the call, and lost.
It was the first of several snafus for the home team. Story’s American League-record perfect stolen base mark looked over by a mile when the Diamondbacks caught him in a rundown. Instead, the veteran shortstop managed to avoid the tag and extend his mark to 27 for 27. (The MLB record is Trea Turner’s 30 for 30 season with the ‘23 Phillies.)
Nathaniel Lowe joined Story on base with a single, and Romy Gonzalez, pinch-hitting for Rob Refsnyder, advanced them to second and third with a groundout.
David Hamilton’s line-drive RBI single plated Boston’s second run of the contest and prompted the Diamondbacks to swap Thompson for Jake Woodford.
Hamilton moved into scoring position with his 20th stolen base of the year.
Even with his speed, Connor Wong likely would have been the inning ending groundout. Instead, Jordan Lawlar’s throw from third shot past first baseman Tyler Locklear. Lowe and Gonzalez raced home, Wong to second. For the first time since placing Anthony on the injured list, the Red Sox were in the lead.
Zack Kelly had warmed up as Bello finished the sixth, and even though the Red Sox took their improbable one-run lead, Kelly took the mound rather than Garrett Whitlock, who last pitched Sept. 2.
Whitlock got the ball moments later, after Kelly gave up the tying run on a redemption RBI-single by Lawlar. Despite a double-steal by Locklear and Lawlar, Whitlock recorded the remaining two outs, and followed with a 1-2-3 eighth inning. According to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, however, Whitlock “has been dealing with a physical issue on his lower right leg,” and was “limping pronouncedly on his way back to the dugout” at the end of the eighth.
The bats rewarded Whitlock’s heroics moments later with some pinch-hit magic. Gonzalez began the rally with a one-out single, and Nate Eaton joined him with a walk. Ceddanne Rafaela skyed one to left, but not deep enough, and for a moment, it looked as though these base runners would be wasted, too.
Then, Cora sent Nick Sogard to pinch-hit for Wong. The result: a two-run double to center. Cora sent Carlos Narváez to pinch-hit for Masataka Yoshida, and the rookie catcher sent Sogard home with an RBI single. Alex Bregman reached on Lawlar’s second throwing error of the game before Jarren Duran struck out swinging to end the inning.
“I think that’s just a testament to how deep this team is,” Sogard told NESN’s Jahmai Webster. “It’s always good to help contribute, and especially this time of year, with the way this team’s been going, it feels good… That was a big win.”
With a three-run lead, Aroldis Chapman took the mound for the first time in six days. Thanks to a wild pitch that allowed Ildemaro Vargas to reach first after striking out swinging, the veteran closer needed to record four outs. Getting Lawlar swinging to end the game, Chapman joined Craig Kimbrel (May 25, 2017) as the only pitchers in franchise history with four strikeouts in a single inning.
Facts and figures
The Red Sox are 26-45 when opponents score first. They’re 26-20 in series finales.
The Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 Sunday to take two of three in a crucial division matchup.
Next up, the Red Sox head to Sacramento for three games with the Athletics at their Triple-A lodgings.
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