The conversation after the Red Sox' 9-4 win over the Braves Tuesday night was an Al Horford lay-up. Alex Cora finally shaved and, boom, his team started hitting.
"My brother (Joey), I’m going to throw him under the bus, but he was to the extreme,” Cora told reporters. "So I learned a little bit from him. But I was very routine-oriented. I played with some guys that were worse. Raúl Mondesi, for example. You know how they throw the cups in the dugout? He wanted no part of that. He will make sure he picks it up. And it’s not because he wanted the dugout to be clean. … He did it all the time. In this sport, everything goes. I think that’s the beauty of 162."
The manager later added, "I got a text from [my daughter] Angelica, and she's like, 'Well, you know, I told you 10 days ago, it's on you.’ But you know, like I said, if our offense depends on my facial hair, we're in big trouble."
Whether it was happenstance or legitimate impactful superstition, the end result - and Cora's face - seemed familiar.
This was supposed to be the kind of carry-over from 2021 that led to so much optimism heading into 2022.
Unfortunately for the Red Sox, the nine runs and 11 hits were somewhat of an aberration this season, marking the first time in the last five games they have scored more than two runs.
But, no matter. Page turned.
Sure, the Red Sox woke up Wednesday morning still living life 10 1/2 games in back of the first-place Yankees, as was the case when they started Tuesday. Still, this win offered the kind of spring in their step which has been hard to find.
Xander Bogaerts had three more hits to raise his batting average to an American League-best .354.
Rafael Devers did his Rafael Devers thing, rifling a 111.3 mph, 432-foot missile into center field for the game-changing grand slam.
The first base position got on base four times, with Franchy Cordero drawing three walks and Bobby Dalbec coming on to claim a hit.
Trevor Story showed signs of life with a pair of hits - his fourth multi-hit game of the season - while watching a 98.7 mph liner go for an out.
And the bullpen got two notable two-inning shutout stints from newcomers Tyler Danish and John Schreiber, who struck out three and hasn't allowed a run or walk over his 6 1/3 innings.
It was just one game and the Red Sox are still living life in a fairly significant-size hole. But it was something. Something that seemed really familiar.
