Gasper stays ready to mash with homer in 3rd straight game: 'He's a grinder'

BOSTON -- Mickey Gasper arrived at Fenway Park on Monday with two homers in 92 career games. But his story is deeper than that.

For eight years, Gasper has produced in the Minor Leagues (.869 OPS, 67 homers in 508 games and 2,050 plate appearances) but it has never been enough to earn him more than temporary stays in “The Show.”

But for these last three days, the 30-year-old Gasper has put on a show. For the third day in a row, Gasper went deep. This one was his biggest yet – a game-tying, three-run homer into the bleachers beyond the visiting bullpen in right with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Unfortunately for the Red Sox, Gasper’s equalizer wasn’t enough. Boston didn’t score after that. Instead, Arizona salvaged the finale of this three-game series with a 7-6 win in 10 innings.

The go-ahead run scored on a 51.1 mph bloop single off the bat of veteran Nolan Arenado. But that didn’t take away from the best series Gasper has had thus far in his big league career.

“It’s special,” Gasper said. “You're trying to put the team in a position to win the game, and you know at that point, we've been clawing back all game. So to get back to even there, that was a big moment.”

With his team down, 5-2, Gasper worked the count to 3-1 against Brandon Pfaadt, who had mainly flummoxed Boston through the first five innings.

Gasper got a changeup in the middle of the plate but just below the strike zone and he mauled it at an exit velocity of 102.2 mph and a Statcast-projected 407 feet.

“Backdooor spin, down and away changeups,” Gasper said. “That was really the first one that didn't bite to the outside as much. He got it down, but it just kind of stayed over the middle. I was fortunate enough to put a good swing on it, but it really came down to, ‘I’ve just got to see this guy.”’

It’s safe to say Gasper won’t forget these three days any time soon.

“It's great,” Gasper said. “It’s more important we won the series. Would have liked to sweep, but just to be able to do my part and put us in a position to win. I'm very grateful.”

It has been evident dating back to Gasper’s first callup of the season in May that Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy -- who managed him at Triple-A Worcester -- is one of his biggest fans.

“Today's obviously a huge swing,” Tracy said. “That's a game that swung in that manner when it felt like, maybe it's going to get away from us. And then he comes in and all of a sudden we got backend [relievers] in there trying to win the game. So he took some great at-bats.”

Tracy, who never did get a call to the Major Leagues after eight seasons in the Minors, can certainly appreciate Gasper’s journey.

“We have a handful of those on our roster who are grinders,” Tracy said. “But yeah, he's a grinder. Like a lot of the guys who have been up here this year, he's ready to go when called.”

Gasper’s latest callup came on Sunday, the day after Masataka Yoshida suffered a left hamstring strain. The switch-hitter, who has a 1.017 OPS in 54 games this season for Worcester, looks determined to make the most of his latest opportunity.