"Darnell McDonald: 'The Microwave,'" announced Dustin Pedroia after the Sox' 7-6 comeback win at Fenway. "Instant offense."
McDonald's thrilling introduction picked up a struggling team for at least one evening in Boston. The 31-year-old with fewer than 70 major-league games under his belt kicked some life into the Nation with a heroic game-tying homer and an exhilarating, game-winning, walk-off single to cap off his Red Sox debut.
"It was fantastic," said Josh Reddick, McDonald's PawSox teammate and fellow minor-league call-up, who also made his first big-league appearance of the year on Tuesday. "These guys were struggling a little bit and it's always a good feeling helping out the ball club, hopefully we can keep this up and do it all over again and again."
Reddick played his part in this win, as well. His two-run double down the left-field line brought the Sox within two runs. Needless to say, he wasn't too upset to see McDonald steal the thunder.
"They were great," Pedroia said of Reddick and McDonald. "They add a lot of energy and we needed that. We've been down for a little bit so it's good."
McDonald barely made it to the park on time for batting practice, while Reddick, who played 27 games in Boston last season, was more likely to be expecting the call based on the lingering injuries the Sox outfield had been struggling with heading into Tuesday.
Reddick explained how his goal is to bring a spark to the team. That, of course, is just what he did and just what he plans to do as long as he's called upon to help out.
"I try to play this game hard and I know Darnell does the same thing," said Reddick, who started in center field and batted ninth. "I'm young so I'm always playing the game hard. But it doesn't surprise me what he did tonight because he's just tearing the cover off the ball [in Pawtucket]."
But it hasn't always been so joyous for McDonald, who owns a .231 career average and didn't even crack a big-league roster in 2005, 2006 and 2008.
"It shows the heart he has," explained Reddick. "You see a guy like that and he just loves to play the game. He was fantastic — he's a great hitter and a great outfielder. He's stayed consistent and he's carried it over, just like a good player does."
Before his call-up Tuesday, McDonald was hitting .341 (14-for-41) with two home runs and eight RBIs in 10 games with Pawtucket. After Tuesday, he owns a 1.000 batting average with one homer, three RBIs and a Nation of new followers.
