A two-game swing was at stake.
The Boston Red Sox sit eight games back of the first-place Tampa Bay Rays after pulling off a 4-3 win in 10 innings Friday night at Tropicana Field. The Rays had the Red Sox’s backs against the wall in the ninth inning, though, and Boston would sit 10 games back in the division if Craig Breslow and Alexi Ogando didn’t escape trouble and give the offense a chance to come through in the 10th.
It’s hard to point to one game as a turning point. It’s especially difficult when talking about a game in June and a team that has failed to build momentum all season. But Friday marked the beginning of an important seven-game road trip against American League East opponents. The Red Sox really needed a victory.
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Let’s run down some notes from Friday.
— Rick Porcello had a so-so night on the rubber, as he allowed three runs over six innings. The right-hander was encouraged, though. While he remains winless over his last seven starts, he at least didn’t suffer the loss and he gave the Sox a chance to win.
“Big time positive,” Porcello told reporters of the victory. “Start the road trip off right. These next couple of weeks are huge for us. We can do a lot of good things and pull ourselves within striking distance, so this is a good way to start the road trip.”
— Mookie Betts extended his career-best hit streak to 13 games with a double in the 10th inning. He scored the eventual winning run when Brock Holt singled into left field.
Betts, like Porcello, was feeling good about the victory.
“I think we’ve been coming alive for a while,” Betts said. “Sometimes, you don’t see it just because you may lose a couple of games. But I think we’re right there and we can make a run before the break.”
— Alejandro De Aza is looking more and more like a very useful piece. He’s probably best-served being used as a fourth outfielder — obviously that’s predicated on the Red Sox getting and staying healthy — but he’s been a very solid addition since being acquired from the Baltimore Orioles earlier this month.
De Aza is hitting .333 (10-for-30) with eight RBIs and six extra-base hits over his last eight games after going 1-for-4 with an RBI double in the series opener.
— It’s two games, yes. But Jackie Bradley Jr. looks much more comfortable in his return to the Red Sox.
Bradley went 1-for-3 with an RBI, and he greeted Rays reliever Kevin Jepsen with a single into center field in the seventh inning. Bradley also showed very good bat control in the second inning while providing a sacrifice fly.
Bradley, who had two hits Thursday, including a single off dominant left-handed closer Zach Britton, appears to be playing with confidence. It’ll be interesting to see how the Red Sox approach their outfield situation once Hanley Ramirez returns from the hand injury he’s been dealing with the last couple of days.
Having both De Aza and Bradley — two left-handed-hitting outfielders — is redundant. And dividing the playing time will be a chore once Ramirez returns to his usual post in left field. But Bradley has the higher ceiling, obviously, and if he continues to impress at the plate, it’ll be difficult to remove him from the lineup, regardless of how well De Aza is playing. After all, the Red Sox have been waiting for Bradley to supplement his Gold Glove-caliber defense with respectable offense for two-plus seasons.
— Joe Kelly, who was demoted Thursday, will make his first start with Triple-A Pawtucket on Sunday. Red Sox manager John Farrell shed some more light on the 27-year-old’s situation before Friday’s game.
“You always look to develop a starter before you say, ‘OK, he’s solely a bullpen arm,’ ” Farrell told reporters in St. Petersburg. “That’s the view we have of Joe. And to do that through the order three times, you’re required to have the consistent location that he has shown, and we’re just trying to get the consistency back as high as possible. That’s the approach we’ve taken right now.”
— It’s only a matter of time before Steven Wright finds his way back to the majors in some capacity.
Farrell made it clear when Wright was optioned to Pawtucket earlier this week that the knuckleballer didn’t pitch his way out of a role. The demotion simply was a product of his roster situation (i.e. his minor league options). And on Friday, Wright dominated in his first start back with the PawSox.
Wright allowed one run on four hits in a complete-game hard-luck loss. He struck out five, didn’t walk anyone and carried a two-hit shutout into the ninth inning.
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
