Monasterio blasts go-ahead HR in 10th and ... can't stop apologizing?

WEST SACRAMENTO – After all the madness of a wild, 4-2, 10-inning win by the Red Sox over the Athletics on Wednesday night, all Andruw Monasterio wanted to say (yet again) was that he was sorry.

What was the home run hero sorry for? Monasterio had just powered his red-hot team to get another key win – their 19th in the last 22 games.

Why in the world was he sorry? It all went back to an error he made from shortstop on what would have been an inning-ending groundout by Jacob Wilson in the seventh.

The error by Monasterio made reliever Justin Slaten have to work a bit harder to get out of what would have been a 1-2-3 frame, but all seemed right in the world when the power righty blew a 97.8 mph sinker by Tommy White.

“He's come up to me, like, seven times, like, ‘I'm sorry.’” said Slaten. “I’m like, ‘Dude, it's OK. Errors happen. There's nothing bad about it.’ But it felt really good to make that pitch in that situation and get out of it, and just let them go and swing the bat.”

Just to clarify, Monasterio said sorry again after his Statcast-projected 428-foot homer to left-center to lead off the top of the 10th?

“He came in as soon as the game was over. He apologized once in the handshake line and, like, three more times since I’ve been sitting here,” Slaten said. “I just keep telling him, ‘It doesn't matter. We won the game. I was able to pick you up. That feels good. And then you picked us up in the last inning.’ That's what it's about. That’s why we've been winning games, because we just continue to pick each other up.”

And Monasterio picked everyone up with his sixth home run of the season. With the automatic runner on second, Monasterio was told in no uncertain terms by interim manager Chad Tracy and bench coach José Flores not to bunt.

The general rule of thumb for the road team in extra-inning games is to play for two runs, not one. Monasterio got the two with one mighty cut.

“Amazing,” said Monasterio. “For me, the most important thing is to help my team to win, and if you help your team to win, you're gonna be successful individually. My mindset also was, ‘Drive him in, try to go the other way. At least, like, move him over.’ But, I got a homer.”

Monasterio admits his approach changed when he got ahead in the count 2-0 and got a meaty, center-cut fastball from lefty reliever José Suarez and tore into it.

“I didn't feel like [it was 428 feet],” said Monasterio. “But as soon as I hit that ball, I knew it was gone, and I see my dugout cheering for me, and that's amazing. That felt good.”

As Monasterio walked off the field and toward the clubhouse beyond the center-field fence after the game, the Red Sox fans – there are always a lot of New England transplants when the team travels out West – cheered loudly for him.

While Monasterio has largely been a utility player for most of the season, his role has expanded due to the fact he is the only middle infielder from the Opening Day roster who has stayed healthy all season.

From Trevor Story to Marcelo Mayer to Isiah Kiner-Falefa, they’ve all been down for a while. Of late, Monasterio has been holding down the fort as the primary shortstop.

Though that could change by Monday’s Trade Deadline, Monasterio is doing a nice job.

Easily in the running as one of kindest players on the Red Sox, Monasterio is happy to be doing his part – whatever part his team needs him to play on a given night.

“It’s a dream come true,” Monasterio said. “You want to be in the big leagues and also want to be an everyday player, but also to be in the big leagues, you have to play the role they have for you, and I know what my role is. I’m just trying to do my best.

“When the other guys come back, I’ll be glad because you want to be healthy when you are a baseball player, you are an athlete. And I want a speedy recovery from my teammates.”

In the meantime, the man everyone on the team calls “Mona” will take regular at-bats. Since July 7, Monasterio has been on a tear, producing a batting line of .386/.481/.773 with six doubles, a triple, three homers and eight RBIs in 55 plate appearances.

“He's been great, really, since the road trip before the All-Star break,” Tracy said. “We gave him some run there, he started playing more and he started playing very good defensively. He's taken some good swings against both left and right. He's hit some home runs, a lot of doubles, but he's been huge for us.”

Huge enough that Monasterio doesn’t need to be sorry about a thing.