Bobby Dalbec is just beginning his Major League Baseball career, so he has a lot of time to achieve the dreams he set out to make come true.
One of them came to pass Friday night.
Down 3-2 in the seventh inning at Fenway Park, the hard-hitting first baseman took Los Angeles Angels reliever Tony Watson deep with a two-run homer. It put the Red Sox up by the deciding score of 4-3 and, after Dalbec returned to the dugout, the 25 percent capacity crowd at Fenway refused to stop cheering.
That allowed for the 25-year-old to get his first Fenway curtain call.
“That was awesome,” Dalbec told NESN’s Jahmai Webster after the game on “Red Sox Extra Innings LIVE.” “That was a moment you dream of as a kid: Getting a curtain call at Fenway Park. It was a special moment for me.”
Even his manager was beaming.
“To have a curtain call, it was great to see,” Alex Cora told reporters after the game over Zoom, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “The vibe was outstanding, the fans were into it. It was a great night, it was a great night.”
Here are some other notes from Friday’s Angels-Red Sox game:
— The last time Nick Pivetta was on the mound, we wrote about how the change of scenery proved to be good for him.
That remained the case Friday, as he cemented himself in some impressive Red Sox folklore. Pivetta has yet to lose in 10 starts with Boston since arriving in a trade from the Philadelphia Phillies. The only other pitchers to go unbeaten in their first 10 Red Sox starts were Pedro Martinez and Matt Clement.
“Commanded the strike zone really well tonight,” Pivetta said after the win. “Didn’t give up any walks, which was a huge plus. Just attacked the hitters.”
Pivetta ended up going six-plus innings, allowing just two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.
“It starts with the starting pitcher, and Nick was outstanding,” Cora said. “He gave us a chance to win.”
— Matt Barnes has been nails all season, so it’s tough to pinpoint his best performance thus far.
No matter which you think is his best, Friday’s showing should be up there.
With the Sox up 4-3 in the ninth, Barnes needed just 11 pitches, 10 of which went for strikes, to punch out the side in order.
— A lot obviously will be made about the performance of Dalbec, Pivetta and Barnes. But an under the radar part of the win was the eighth inning showing of Adam Ottavino.
The seventh inning saw the Red Sox blow a 2-1 lead, only to take it back and go into the eighth up 4-3. Ottavino had to face the top of the Angels’ order. He proceeded to induce a David Fletcher ground out before striking out Shohei Ohtani — who had been torturing the Sox — and Mike Trout.
— One of Cora’s first spring training definitions already has come true.
Back in Ft. Myers, Cora predicted that the Red Sox would get a ton of production out of the bottom of their lineup.
The Marwin González-Hunter Renfroe-Dalbec bottom three Friday went 4-for-8 with all four of the Sox’s RBIs, three runs scored and two strikeout.
“That was something we talked about in spring training, right?” Cora said. “The bottom of the lineup was going to hit for power.”
Renfroe roped a two-run homer in the second inning.
— Friday marked the quarter point in the season. With the win, the Red Sox hold a two-game lead in the American League East over the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees.
