BOSTON -- Rafael Devers was about to come to bat with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning on a Friday night at Fenway Park that had a postseason-type of atmosphere.
With the Sox down just two runs at the time, the opportunities seemed endless for Devers. Game-tying single? Go-ahead double? Grand slam that would send Fenway into a state of euphoria?
Well, something unfortunate happened that eliminated all of those possibilities in Boston’s eventual 7-4 loss to the Dodgers.
On a line-drive single to right from Alex Verdugo, Connor Wong got a great jump from first and made a hard turn around second. Wong realized too late that the slow-footed Triston Casas wasn’t going to be waved around third. Not with the cannon arm of Mookie Betts ready to come up firing in right.
He was caught in between the bases. Just like that, Wong was tagged out. The inning was over and Devers never got his big chance.
“I was a little late picking up [third-base coach Carlos] Febles and that just can't happen in that situation,” Wong said. “That play probably cost us a really good chance of winning the game. Mistakes like that at this point in the season shouldn't be happening.”
“He felt like he had a good jump, but in that situation, you have to remember who’s in front of you. Obviously it’s not a great play, and it’s one that you talk about, especially in the situation we’re in,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “His run, yeah, it means something, but let’s make sure we know who’s in front of us. He put his head down and kept going. When he looked up, it was too late.”
Fortunately for the Red Sox, the defeat didn’t cost them ground in the standings. Boston remained 3 1/2 games behind Houston for the third American League Wild Card spot. The Blue Jays, who also lost, are still two games in front of the Sox.
While all the buzz heading into Friday’s game was about the return of Betts to Fenway Park for the first time since 2019, there were plenty of other developments once the contest started in front of a lively crowd of 35,653, many of them dressed in Dodger blue.
Verdugo’s opening salvo
Betts received a thunderous ovation from the Fenway faithful when he led off the ballgame. He popped up and the Dodgers didn’t score in the first.
But Verdugo, the top player the Red Sox received in the trade for Betts, led off the bottom of the first by belting the first pitch from Lance Lynn into the Dodgers’ bullpen in right field. It was the second straight day Verdugo launched a leadoff homer. But this one meant more, given who it came against.
“Ask anybody who gets traded; they always want to do good against their former team,” Verdugo said. “And I don't think anybody's gonna sit here and lie about it. I want to do good against that team.”
Of late, Verdugo has been doing well against everyone. After an ice-cold July, Verdugo has regained his groove in August, slashing .333/.365/.564 with four homers and 11 RBIs.
“He’s in a good place,” said Cora. “Even the ball he hit the other way, although he was a little bit out in front, there's intention. He’s not loopy. He’s straight to the baseball. He's comfortable now.”
Rare mishap by Pivetta the difference
After five innings, the Red Sox were feeling good about their chances, holding a 5-0 lead. To that point, starting pitcher Kutter Crawford had been dominant, allowing two hits. But Betts made his former team pay by belting a double off the scoreboard in left that sparked a game-tying, three-run rally. Freddie Freeman followed with a single. And that was all for Crawford.
Cora went to Pivetta, who came in with a 2.49 ERA in 20 relief appearances. But appearance No. 21 just happened to be his worst of the season. Pivetta gave up four hits and four runs over two innings, including a pair of untimely walks in a three-run seventh.
“I mean, there’s no excuses,” said Pivetta. “I’ve got to be top line every time I go out, especially against a team like that.”
With Kenley Jansen day to day with a right hamstring injury, Cora tried to get a bit more out of Crawford and Pivetta than he would have under different circumstances.
“Location-wise, he was off,” said Cora. “We were asking a lot out of him. Where we were in the bullpen today, we needed him to go multiple innings.”