In just a handful of big league games, Michael Chavis already has proven he knows how to keep a moment from getting too big.
That was evident again Wednesday night, as the infielder hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning of the Boston Red Sox’s 6-5 win over the Colorado Rockies at Fenway Park.
Xander Bogaerts kicked off the inning with a double to the center field wall, then Colorado intentionally walked Rafael Devers. Chavis then stepped in and swung at the first pitch he saw, an 87 mph cutter on the inner half of the plate, and hit it right up the middle into center, scoring Bogaerts.
In his on-field interview after the game with NESN’s Guerin Austin, Chavis revealed what was going through his head when he came up to bat.
“Single scores him,” Chavis said with a chuckle. “That’s it, honestly. Just keeping things simple.”
It was Chavis’ first career walk-off hit, and though it wasn’t a homer, it certainly was memorable.
Here are some other notes from Wednesday’s Rockies-Red Sox game:
— Not that it’s much of a surprise anymore, but J.D. Martinez is in the midst of a nice run.
The slugger hit his ninth homer of the season in the win, blasting a two-run shot into the Red Sox bullpen in the third inning. Martinez finished his night with two hits, three RBIs, one walk, one strikeout and one run scored.
Over his last seven games, Martinez is hitting .321 with five homers, 10 RBIs and nine runs.
— Eduardo Rodriguez has been strong in recent outings, and save for one inning, he wasn’t necessarily awful Wednesday night.
The southpaw went six-plus innings, allowing five runs on nine hits with 10 strikeouts and one walk. He only had allowed two runs through six innings, but he began the seventh by allowing a double, single and hit batter before getting yanked. Matt Barnes allowed all three runners to score, so each run was charged to Rodriguez.
— Marcus Walden has been a pleasant surprise out of the bullpen this season, and that remained the case against the Rockies.
Walden replaced Barnes in the seventh with two outs, the game tied and a runner on second, and the reliever struck out Raimel Tapia to end the inning. The righty returned for the eighth and ninth and retired the side in order both times, striking out one in the eighth and a pair in the ninth.
