Boston Red Sox right-hander Adam Ottavino admitted he isn’t a pitcher who will show emotion after a big strikeout or play.
Playing in front of 25,000-plus screaming fans for the first time at Fenway Park since the COVID-19 pandemic changed the sports landscape, though, so it was different.
“Just kind of an out-of-body experience there,” Ottavino said on a postgame video conference when referring to his seventh-inning heroics during Boston’s 3-1 win over the Miami Marlins. “(I’m) glad I was able to make the pitch and just kind of blacked out.”
Ottavino brought all 25,000 to their feet with a pair of strikeouts in the seventh, stranding three Marlins runners and helping Boston hold its 2-0 lead at the time. Ottavino entered the game for Josh Taylor, who walked the first batter he faced, and then was staring down No. 3 batter Jesus Aguilar and No. 4 Garrett Cooper. He proceeded to strike out Aguilar on a filthy slider, the ninth pitch of the at bat, and sat Cooper in just four pitches.
It prompted a pretty surreal cheer from the Fenway faithful, one that certainly has been missed. It also elicited an intense reaction from Ottavino himself.
“You don’t have to worry about your energy level when you have a crowd like that, it’s just going to be there,” Ottavino said. “It’s just a natural hormonal reaction. And you just try to embrace it, and use it.”
Here are some other notes from Red Sox-Marlins:
— The fans returning to the stands clearly was a high point for everyone.
“It was awesome,” starter Nathan Eovaldi, who pitched 5 1/3 innings and didn’t allow a run, said on a postgame video conference. “They were definitely bringing the energy, you could definitely tell the excitement was there in the stadium. So, I mean it was awesome to have them out there and even better that we were able to get that win tonight.”
Red Sox bench coach Will Venable, acting as manager in place of Alex Cora, added: “It was awesome. A lot of energy out there, a lot of excitement. I know the guys were really feeding off that. Couple guys came in the dugout and were just talking about how electric it was and I think it was a great experience for them. Some tense plays out there, some tense moments the crowd was into, and I think everyone enjoyed it for sure.”
— Ottavino wasn’t the only one to come through in a high-leverage moment, either. Fellow reliever Hirokazu Sawamura stranded runners on second and third after he entered the game with two outs in the eighth.
“Today a lot of guys contributed,” Ottavino said. “So really everybody is getting in that groove and we’re just trying to keep the lead, keep our team close from behind and just do our job. I think everybody is having a good time right now and trying to keep that going.”
The Red Sox ultimately stranded 12 Marlins runners as a team.
“Good work with all those guys,” Venable said. “Everyone did a great job. The back end of the game felt like trying to piece it together.”
— Venable was on the winning end of his first career opportunity as a big league manager. The 12-year pro stepped in for Cora, who was in Puerto Rico for his daughter’s high school graduation.
— Hunter Renfroe came up with some timely hits during the win, including an eighth-inning RBI double to score Rafael Devers and give Boston a much-needed insurance run.
“It’s been great,” Venable said. “He stuck with the game plan, and taking some really good swings. Even on balls he’s fouling back he just looks like he’s in really good position to do some damage. The timing is great right now and I think it’s just a credit to him sticking with it, staying with his work, staying with his routine. He’s a confident kid out there and it’s just nice to see him get some results.”
— The Red Sox will return to Fenway on Sunday as they host the Marlins in the final game of the three-game set. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. ET.
