NESN

Red Sox Show Attitude, Win Two Straight After Bobby Valentine Calls Roster ‘Weak’

Editor's note: NESN.com is going to tell the story of the 2012 Red Sox in Bobby Valentine's words. Each game day, we will select a Valentine quote that sums up the day for the Red Sox.

Bobby Valentine may have lit a fire under his club.

After calling his roster weak on Friday afternoon, the Red Sox have responded to his statement with two straight victories. It's the first time since August 26-27 that Boston has claimed consecutive games.

With two outs in the ninth inning of Saturday's contest, Pedro Ciriaco continued his memorable campaign, smacking a double down the left field line that lifted the Red Sox to a 3-2 victory.

"It's just an attitude that's good to see," Valentine told reporters of his team's resilience.

It came one day after Ryan Lavarnway, Daniel Nava and Mauro Gomez emerged as the team's unsung heroes in Toronto. The trio exploded on Friday, combining for all eight runs in the 8-5 win over the Blue Jays.

But Ciriaco's clutch heroics have become old hat. Known as the Yankee killer for his late-game hits, the utility man said he takes pleasure in rising to the occasion when the pressure is on.

"Close situations, I'm a little bit more focused," Ciriaco told reporters. "Today, I had a little bit more patience. Two at-bats earlier, I was pulling a little bit. That one, I just got my pitch and tried to hit it hard somewhere."

That focus and patience helped the Sox' pitching staff as on Saturday, as well. Through seven innings, starter Clay Buchholz dominated the Blue Jays lineup, yielding just four hits and two runs — one earned — while racking up five strikeouts.

It was a bounce-back outing for Buchholz, who surrendered at least four runs in each of his last four starts. Although he didn't receive the decision, the pitcher gave a worthy performance.

"It's a shame it didn't happen at the beginning of the season, when I wanted it to or expected it to," Buchholz told reporters. "This game's humbling. You can go out there and feel great and give up six runs. Then you can go out there and not have your best stuff and get through seven innings. I feel good about it."

Weak roster or not, the Red Sox have answered Valentine's comments over the past two nights.