Dalbec's go-ahead homer: 'Dream' moment 

BOSTON -- The chants of “Bobby, Bobby, Bobby” echoed around Fenway Park, making it sound as if the ballpark had a lot more than 25 percent seating capacity.

The Bobby who was the target of all those cheers came out for a curtain call. Then they cheered even louder.

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For the better part of the season, rookie slugger Bobby Dalbec has been trying to find his hitting stroke.

When the game was on the line on Friday night, the right-handed-hitting slugger bashed a go-ahead two-run homer to left-center that powered the Red Sox to a 4-3 victory over the Angels.

“It felt great,” said Dalbec. “It always feels great to be able to come up big in a big spot like that and put the team ahead, especially in the late innings.”

Dalbec took aim at a changeup from lefty Tony Watson that caught a little too much plate on the inner half and scorched it off of a sign behind the Monster Seats.

“Bobby got a changeup down in the zone and he put a great swing on it. He picked us up,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “It was a cool Friday night at Fenway, to have a curtain call, it was great to see. The vibe was outstanding. The fans were into it. It was a great night. Hopefully we can get many of those.”

If not for that sign that got in the way, the baseball that Dalbec belted would have found a piece of pavement on Lansdowne Street. Per Statcast, the drive was hit a projected distance of 419 feet and had a launch angle of 35 degrees.

It didn’t take long for the crowd to let Dalbec know what they felt about the homer. It was catcher Christian Vázquez who pushed Dalbec out of the dugout to take in the reception.

“Yeah, it was crazy,” said Dalbec. “Crazy moment, special moment, something that you dream of as a kid.”

It was the second towering shot for Dalbec in as many nights. In Thursday’s 8-1 win over Oakland, he mashed one 432 feet to center.

Dalbec has hit half of his four homers for the season in the last two games, perhaps a sign that he’s ready to go on a run reminiscent of 2020, when he roped eight homers in his first 80 Major League at-bats.

Given the high-impact hitters the Red Sox have in the middle of their lineup, the emergence of Dalbec and Hunter Renfroe, who has been on fire of late, could mean big things in the bottom two spots in the order.

“I think we talked about it in Spring Training,” said Dalbec. “It has the potential to be a really dangerous lineup. If everyone’s clicking, it’s an extremely dangerous lineup. We just have to stick with the process, just have good at-bats and see the ball and be patient, take our time with everything and just get it rolling.”

Friday night’s shot by Dalbec came at a particularly opportune time. The Red Sox had squandered Nick Pivetta’s 2-0 lead in the top of the seventh when Matt Andriese had a rough inning that allowed the Angels to take a 3-2 edge.

Once Dalbec put the Red Sox in front, Adam Ottavino turned in one of his sharpest outings of the season, mowing through the dangerous tandem of Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout as part of a 1-2-3 eighth.

In the ninth, Matt Barnes was dominant yet again, striking out the side swinging on just 11 pitches.

“That's what we envisioned when we got Adam here, for him and Barnes to get the last six outs of the game,” said Cora. “Obviously it didn't go perfectly in the seventh, but everything starts with starting pitching and Nick was outstanding, he gave us a chance to win. Good fastball, good breaking ball to a good lineup and then those two, they did what they did. It was a fun win. It was cool to see those two guys going after it.”

After a disappointing 2019 and a last-place finish with no fans in the stands in ’20, the excitement is back at Fenway Park.

“Having them here, having them show up every single night, it’s good vibes all around,” said Pivetta. “These [fans], they get done with their days of work and whatever they’re doing, they come to Fenway and when we put up a win, that’s what’s most important. Do it for the fans.”

For those fans, the most gratifying part of a fun Friday night was one mighty swing by Dalbec.