It was just one win. And one win against a team that has now lost 107 games, nonetheless.
But within the Red Sox' 6-0 victory over the Orioles Wednesday night at Camden Yards was a blueprint. This is exactly how this team can get to where they want to go.
In the short-term, what transpired before 8,732 folks kept the Red Sox' afloat in their quest to play beyond Game 162. With the Blue Jays and Mariners victories, the Sox are one game in back of the Yankees for the Wild Card top spot, 1/2-game in front of Seattle and one ahed of the Jays.
There are four more regular season games to decide exactly what the Red Sox' October existence will look like.
What the likes of Nathan Eovaldi and J.D. Martinez did on this night was tease more than just the here and the now. They supplied a reminder that Alex Cora's club wouldn't exactly be running on fumes if presented an opportunity to play either a tie-breaker or Wild Card game.
Start with Eovaldi. Six innings and no runs when it counted the most.
The pitcher's reputation was born during those six innings of relief in Dodger Stadium on Oct. 26, 2018 and took another big step forward Wednesday night.
"We've been through this path before I know what he can do in those situations. We lived it, right? It doesn't seem like the moment gets too big on him," Cora said. "Last week was last week. The good ones, they struggle sometimes. Hopefully, it's his last bad one and he can continue. Whenever he pitches he'll be ready to go and we expect him to dominate."
Cora added, "He's the same guy on Opening Day, same guy tonight, same guy in 2018. He shows up prepares, his stuff is that good, we know that. He stays in the moment, he doesn't get ahead of himself. We feel good about him, we feel good about Chris, we're going to feel good tomorrow with Nick (Pivetta). With Nate, we've seen it before. He had to be perfect in the playoffs in that game, every pitch had to be perfect, and he almost did it. Just one home run in I don't know how many pitches. He doesn't get caught up in the moment. He knows what he has to do."
It is an existence that has to make Cora feel somewhat secure for whatever postseason scenario arrives. You have Eovaldi. You have Chris Sale. You have been gifted an emerging and experienced bullpen arm in Ryan Brasier (who has allowed one hit and no runs in his last five outings). And Matt Barnes took a step forward in his low-leverage ninth inning, throwing a clean inning while claiming a strikeout.
There are also the bats ... more specifically, the bat. The one belonging to J.D. Martinez.
The Red Sox' offense just looks different when Martinez is a presence, as was the case against the Orioles with the designated hitter going 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Evidence: The Red Sox are 38-8 when Martinez manages three or more RBI, and now 79-24 when he hits at least one homer.
"He hasn't deviated from what he does as far as preparation and his swing," Cora said of Martinez. "Today was a great day. He did an amazing job, obviously the homer and then the rest of his at-bats. Seeing him in the dugout and throughout the game, he was pretty locked in. We need the big boys to do their thing. We're a very offensive team. We're a lot better when the big boys are swinging the bat. The other guys will contribute like Hunter (Renfroe, who managed his 30th homer) and Alex (Verdugo) and Kiké (Hernandez). It's not that we depend on them, but when we're really, really good, they do damage. They do what they did today, so that was a good first step."
This is also exactly how the steps will keep coming.
"It’s fun. This is awesome," Martinez said. "I’m sure you guys are having fun with it too. We’re having fun. This is a little more pressure on us, but I like to have fun with these things. This is what we play for, to be in these situations. If they told us at the beginning of spring training we’d be in this situation, I think everybody would be excited and be looking forward to the challenge."
