Brock Holt returned to Fenway and so did good times for Red Sox

Ron Roenicke actually got to manage. Xander Bogaerts showed why he is one of the few untouchables at the trade deadline. The bullpen offered a glimpse to what a string of shutdown innings look like. Alex Verdugo made a very Mookie Betts-like play. And, to cap it all off. Brock Holt returned.

For one night at Fenway Park, even with no fans, it had the vibe of the good ol' days.

"It felt like a playoff game when you're doing everything you can to try to win a game," Roenicke said after the Red Sox' 5-3 win over the Nationals. "So taking trips out there with two outs and it seemed like a lot of innings, but hey, the guys did a good job, kept throwing up zeroes and some guys came in and got some big outs for us, so that was good. But boy, it was a hard-fought win, that's for sure." (For a complete box score, click here.)

We know that this is far from 2018.

You still had a starting pitcher, Chris Mazza, who lasted just 2 1/3 innings. Also, there was the uneasy image of Darwinzon Hernandez being pulled after three batters. ("He didn't seem like he was right," Roenicke said of Hernandez. "It didn't seem like he was on his game and I know we're still trying to build him up and that doesn't always mean two, three innings, but it's kind of what we see and it didn't look right tonight, so that's why we didn't put him back out there again, and then next time I'm sure we're going to try to go two again with him, so we're just trying to keep an eye on him and make sure everything's good as he builds up to the point where we would like him to get to.") And, of course, there is that 11-22 record the Red Sox are still stuck with.

But, nonetheless, it was something in a season that really doesn't have a lot.

On top of the 6 2/3 innings, which was punctuated by Matt Barnes closing out a ninth inning that included a three-pitch strikeout of old friend Brock Holt, you had Bogaerts' three hits. Included in the shortstop's night was a three-run homer, which was just the third home run of its kind hit by the Red Sox this season.

Verdugo added some spice to the night with perhaps the best non-Betts outfield throw home we have seen in some time.

Runner goes, Dugie throws... pic.twitter.com/efJS8vtHVp

"I've talked to him about throwing some and trying to be more aggressive in his throws," Roenicke said of Verdugo. "Just being a third-base coach, it means a lot how you look at things and how guys go about it. That's as good a play as you can make. To go over that far and to get that ball like he did, and to still be under enough control to get something on it, one-hop it home, you're not going to see too many plays better than that."

Then there was the reappearance of Holt.

After being released from the Brewers following a 3-for-30 start to 2020, the infielder returned home to the Boston area where his wife and son have been awaiting the couple's second child, which is due in Sept. But late last week word came that the Nationals were interested in helping Holt re-establish his value, signing the former Red Sox for the remainder of the 2020 season.

So Holt took his tests, was cleared and appeared in the ninth inning as a pinch-hitter for Josh Harrison.

Two year ago, the likely scenario would have been Holt coming through with a big Fenway Park-hit. But as we have become very aware of over the past month or so, times have certainly changed.

Brock Holt de regreso al #fenwaypark y Barnes lo recibe de con ponche en el 9no.#mediasrojas #redsox #dirtywater pic.twitter.com/0lUhV4ECMk

The newest #Nationals: Brock Holt pic.twitter.com/8xSVmIwGe3