BOSTON -- Chalk up Saturday night as the most satisfying 0-for-5 in Wilyer Abreu's career. Not even the golden sombrero could wipe the smile off his face by the time this one was over.
With the Red Sox in the middle of a frenzied three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth that ultimately led to a 3-2 walk-off victory over the Giants, Abreu came to the plate at Fenway Park with just one thought in his mind: Put the bat on the ball.
Normally that wouldn’t be such a daunting task for one of Boston’s best all-around players. But Saturday night was different. Abreu had struck out in his first four at-bats, including a crushing one in the bottom of the eighth with nobody out.
An inning later, the game tied at this point, the Giants intentionally walked Ceddanne Rafaela to load them up with one out for Abreu.
“I just tried to relax myself,” Abreu said. “Forget about what happened. Forget about all the strikeouts. Just try to put the ball in play. Anything, drive the ball, fly ball, sac fly, whatever it takes. I just tried to win the game at that moment.”
Facing lefty Sam Hentges, Abreu was down in the count, 1-2. Then, he worked it to 3-2. On a 95.9 mph sinker that was in and just out of the strike zone, Abreu got enough of it to hit an 80.8 mph shot down the first-base line. Bryce Eldridge snared it on a dive and fired a one-hopper that pulled catcher Andrew Knizner just off the plate.
Eli White scored for the win, and the Red Sox chased Abreu around the infield to celebrate the walk-off win. Well, at least they were pretty sure it was a win.
Though the Giants were out of challenges, managers are allowed to ask for a crew-chief review in the final two innings. The Red Sox didn’t wait for the final verdict (the initial call stood) to celebrate. It went down as a fielder’s choice RBI and also a ripped No. 52 jersey.
“They ripped my jersey, so if they had overturned the call, I would have had to come back [in the clubhouse] to grab another one,” Abreu said. “But it was crazy. The ending was just crazy.”
It was another wild win in a summer full of them for the Red Sox, who pulled themselves out of a 32-46 start at which point they trailed the Yankees by 15 1/2 games. Saturday’s wildness put Boston (70-59) three games behind its rivals (73-56) for the top American League Wild Card spot.
“To be able to come back and steal that win -- that was a pretty electric last couple of innings for sure,” interim manager Chad Tracy said.
Here were some other key takeaways from the 31st comeback win of the season for the Sox in their fourth walk-off.
1. Sogard comes up clutch
Leave it to the underrated Nick Sogard to log the biggest hit of the ballgame. The switch-hitter had already been on base three times when he came up in the ninth and belted a game-tying double off the Green Monster, setting Fenway into an absolute frenzy.
“That's a huge at-bat, against a lefty throwing 97,” said Tracy. “The at-bat quality from both sides of the plate has been excellent since he's been back [from the Minors]. He's been awesome.”
During a five-game hitting streak, at which point he has served as Boston’s leadoff hitter, Sogard is 9-for-19 with three doubles, a homer and five walks.
2. Web gems proved vital
Third baseman Caleb Durbin did nothing to dissuade the notion he will win his first Gold Glove Award in his second season. With the Red Sox trying to hang in the game in the top of the eighth, Durbin ranged to his left and made a brilliant diving stop on a grounder by Osleivis Basabe and fired to second for the force. It likely saved a run as Jung Hoo Lee followed with a single to right that put runners at the corners with two outs. Thanks to Durbin, the score stayed 2-0.
That wasn’t the only big defensive play. With the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth, Sogard made a diving catch on a knuckling line drive by Eldridge to keep the game within reach.
3. Sandoval grinds to keep Sox in it
At least early on, this wasn’t the prettiest of nights for Red Sox left-hander Patrick Sandoval, who gave up homers to Willy Adames and No. 9 hitter Knizner. He also had to battle out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the third inning. But Sandoval finished strong, retiring 10 of the last 11 batters he faced.
Overall, Sandoval gave up two runs on five hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings, striking out six while stretching out to a season-high of 93 pitches in his return from Tommy John surgery. This was a much better outing for Sandoval than the previous two, when he gave up an aggregate 17 hits and 11 runs over 10 innings.