The Red Sox dug themselves an early hole Thursday night, trailing 6-1 heading into the sixth inning. But that’s when Boston’s bats woke up.
A six-run sixth put Boston back on top 7-6, only to have the Toronto Blue Jays tie the game in the eighth. They say to stick with what works, so Alex Cora turned to a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning to get the job done, and Marco Hernandez did just that.
Hernandez hit for Sandy Leon with one out in the ninth and smacked a go-ahead solo home run that ultimately would prove to be the game-winning run. With the dinger, Hernandez continued an impressive trend of success for Red Sox pinch hitters this season.
Boston pinch-hitters are batting .417 (20-for-48) with five doubles, four home runs, 14 RBIs and 11 runs scored. The consistency of Boston’s bench has been remarkable over the course of the year, and Thursday night wasn’t even Hernandez’s first game-winning hit in a game he didn’t start. The infielder had a walk-off base hit against the Chicago White Sox last week at Fenway Park.
He had a simple answer as to how he stays prepared to contribute as a reserve.
“I try to stay positive and try to stay ready the whole day,” Hernandez told NESN’s Guerin Austin after the game. “It’s good to win a series and have a happy flight tonight.”
A happy flight indeed.
Thanks to Hernandez’s heroics, Boston escapes Toronto with a series win. It now returns to the U.S. for a three-game set with the Detroit Tigers that will take them into next week’s All-Star break.
Here are some other notes from Thursday’s Red Sox-Blue Jays game:
— Likely until Nathan Eovaldi returns from the injured list, the Red Sox will continue to patch things together when closing games. Cora went with Brandon Workman on Thursday night, wand the righty threw two innings, giving up one run on two hits and two walks.
Workman, who hadn’t pitched in over a week, threw a season-high 38 pitches. It was only the second time all year he tossed over 30 pitches and the third time he’s thrown multiple innings.
— Rafael Devers got the Sox off on the right foot with a first-inning solo shot. He went 2-for-3 with two walks, continuing his impressive pace at the plate.
Entering Tuesday, Devers was hitting .556 with six doubles and two home runs since being slotted into the No. 2 hole, per The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey.
— The Red Sox now have 26 comeback wins this season.
— Eduardo Rodriguez will get the ball in Game 1 against Tigers on Friday. First pitch from Comerica Park is set for 7:10 p.m. ET.
