The Red Sox beat the Rays Wednesday night ... finally.
Jarren Duran's two-out, RBI single in the ninth inning sealed the Sox' 3-2 win. Christian Vazquez also played hero, tying the game in the seventh with a solo home run while also making two key late-game tags at home. And the combination of Garrett Whitlock and Adam Ottavino teamed to shut down Tampa Bay for the final three innings.
It had the tractor-pull kind of feel, which, considering the COVID-induced roadblocks the Sox' roster has been struck with, is probably a vibe Alex Cora and Co. will have to get used to.
But, fortunately for the Red Sox, there is always one player who can offer some semblance of calm and confidence. During and after the game, Chris Sale hasn't disappointed.
“That was big,” he said after the Red Sox beat the Rays for just the second time in the teams' last 11 meetings.
“There’s no doubt we’ve had some gut punches over the last week, week and a half. Even before then. To know that we’ve still got some fight left in us, we’ve got some kick. No one here has given up. Our attitude and effort is staying the same no matter who’s in this clubhouse or who’s not, and that’s the most important thing. We’re still in a position that most other guys would love to be in, and we know that, and we’ve got to keep rolling with it.”
Sale's words count, and so do his actions.
This time the lefty came way with three strikeouts, a level he had only failed to pass five previous times as a member of the Red Sox. But, still, with perhaps his best fastball since the starter's return (averaging 94.3 mph) and improved team defense (the middle-of-the-infield combo of Jack Lopez and Jonathan Arauz was implemented with the ace in mind), Sale delivered the goods once again.
He went six innings, giving up just two runs on six hits before giving way to Whitlock for the seventh and eighth innings. It was the kind of scenario that the Red Sox can certainly live with, even with the current paper-thin roster.
“It was awesome, man," Sale said. "That’s everything. I didn’t have but a couple of strikeouts tonight, so that means I was really relying and leaning on my defense. Those guys up the middle, Jack and Ruze, they made some really heads-up play. With Lopez, it was his major league debut tonight, and he made the most heads-up play that save our butt -- saved out rears tonight. So, hats off to them and everybody really. We were scratching and clawing. This was by no means an easy win. Tight ballgame the entire way, and we did what we had to do, and we found a way to scratch and claw through there and come up big. Our bullpen was nails. Our offense did what they had to do in some big situations when we really needed it. That’s what you love to see. We’ve been kicked. We’ve been punched. To see us fight like that and win a game the way we just won that game, that’s a momentum boost.”
The Red Sox gained a game on Oakland in the chase for the final Wild Card spot. They can actually split with the Rays if Eduardo Rodriguez can come through Thursday night at Tropicana Field. And, psychologically, the team managed a giant step away from the cliff that seemed a few losses away.
All in all, it was a good day for the Red Sox, thanks in large part to their best safety net, Chris Sale.
"We played good baseball today," Cora said. "Like I said yesterday, we're going to pitch, and if we play good defense -- I know we struggled offensively, but that's a really good pitching staff -- but we played really good defense, today. Those two kids up the middle did an amazing job turning double plays. I know Jackie threw the ball away on one of them, but they were very sound. They didn't panic. There's a reason they're probably going to play up the middle most of the time. We catch the ball behind these guys and let the big boys do their thing and see where it takes us. That was a great win. Everybody was into it. It was a great baseball game, let's put it that way."
