The Boston Red Sox needed a hero Wednesday night, and it was Michael Chavis — again — that came through.
With Boston’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays tied up at 5-5 in the top of the 13th, Michael Chavis smashed a 1-2 cutter into the seats, putting the Sox up by the deciding 6-5 margin.
At that point in the game, Chavis was one of three Red Sox without a hit. And the fact that he had yet to find success at the dish during the game played a role in his approach to the at-bat, the rookie admitted.
“(I was thinking) I mean at this point I have no hits, might as well try to get a knock,” Chavis told Jahmai Webster on the field after the game, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “And he threw me a little cutter, slider, something like that, (I) stayed behind it and I caught a barrel.
“I didn’t even have a hit up until that point,” Chavis had said moments earlier. “But I felt good, my swing felt good, I felt like I was just kind of missing pitches earlier, maybe trying to do too much. I think it was 1-2 or 2-2 or something like that. Just tried not to do too much.”
Hey, the approach worked, as Chavis got the most important hit of the game.
Here are some other notes from Wednesday’s Red Sox-Blue Jays game:
— Although the Red Sox got the result they wanted, the bullpen is becoming a bit of a problem.
Four of the five relievers Boston used allowed at least a run, making it near-impossible for the Red Sox to hold on to a lead.Â
While it’s concerning that they in the midst of a big backslide, what’s more worrisome in the short term is that they are cooked — and they are going to have a “bullpen game” of sorts Thursday. Ryan Weber is set to get the ball Thursday, and he and Hector Velazquez are the only pitchers that haven’t thrown in one of the last two games.
If either of them get in trouble, Boston could find itself in a pretty tough spot.
— The collapse by the bullpen took away from what had been a pretty nice outing from Rick Porcello.
Though he ultimately was hit with a no-decision, Porcello tossed six strong innings, allowing just one run on three hits with no walks and four strikeouts. The only run he allowed was a solo homer to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Of all the slow starts in the rotation to begin the season, Porcello’s arguably was the slowest. However, he’s bounced back nicely lately, and the back of the rotation is benefitting because of it.
— Chavis will get plenty of recognition for his late-game hitting, but Mookie Betts nearly filled the same role as the second baseman.
With the game tied in the 12th, Betts drilled a go-ahead homer, however Heath Hembree gave up the tying solo shot in the bottom half of the inning.
