J.D. Martinez gave the Boston Red Sox another chance at a win with his throw from left field in the 10th inning of Saturday’s eventual 7-6 loss in extra innings.
The Red Sox left fielder, who fans usually see as the designated hitter, made a game-saving play to get Boston out of a bases-loaded jam. Martinez caught an Elvis Andrus line drive for the second out and immediately threw home to catcher Christian Vazquez, who planted a tag on Oakland Athletics’ Sean Murphy. Murphy, who accounted for the third out, would have been the game-winning run in the 10th. Instead, the game went deeper into extras.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora praised Martinez for continuing to put in the outfield work so that such plays come to fruition.
“I mean, he’s a good outfielder. J.D. is a good outfielder,” Cora said on a postgame video conference. “He’s just a big guy moving out there, but he takes pride in his defense. He loves playing the outfield. Of course, where we’re at, in his role here, he doesn’t do that often but he prepares on a daily basis. He puts the work. He plays catch, he long tosses and he’s in-tune with the situation.
“That was a great throw,” Cora added. “There were a lot of good things that happened there. What an interesting game. Just happened that we ended up on the losing side.”
The Athletics pulled out the win in the 12th inning despite Boston holding a 6-4 lead entering the bottom half of the frame.
Here are some other notes from Saturday’s Red Sox-A’s game.
— Danny Santana made an ill-timed steal attempt with one out in the 10th inning. Santana, who started the 10th at second base, tried to steal third with one out and Alex Verdugo at the plate. Santana was thrown out and Verdugo struck out a few pitches later to end the inning.
“With Danny, we give him keys and we talk about situations. We actually talked about it afterward and he asked me and I’m like, ‘Well, in a regular game, in a regular spot, it’s OK if you steal and everyone is high-fiving you. But with the rules, you know, knowing they’re going to have a man on second with no outs, it’s a chance we don’t want to take,’ ” Cora said.
— Kiké Hernández continued his hot stretch at the plate with a solo home run during the seventh inning. Hernández was 2-for-4 with two RBI, two runs and a pair of walks in the game.
Hernández now has hit four home runs in the last seven games and has 10 blasts on the season.
— Garrett Richards got the start for the Red Sox and went five innings. Richards was happy to have “made strides” in the effort. He allowed just two earned runs on five hits with three walks.
“That’s my goal every day just trying to fine-tune this stuff and just trying to make strides, trying to be as good as I can be,” Richards said. “I’m figuring out some stuff along the way. Trying not to overthrow is kind of the key right now. I’m just trying to put my body in the correct position to throw pitches.”
Cora added: “He was really good. He was really good. … That’s the guy we’re looking for. He finished the last one really strong and today he competed and did an amazing job.”
— Matt Andriese was responsible for the loss as the reliever allowed three runs on three hits while recording just one out in the 12th.
Cora, however, isn’t going to write off the right-hander who has allowed one or more runs in five of his last six appearances. Andriese, for what it’s worth, has allowed three runs in two of those contests.
“We’re not going to give up on him,” Cora said. “This guy is very important for us.”
— The Red Sox still have one game against the Athletics on Sunday but they can expect to face pitcher Shohei Ohtani when they travel to Los Angeles to face the Angels. Ohtani reportedly will pitch against the Red Sox on Tuesday.
— Christian Arroyo is expected to join the Red Sox for that three-game set in LA. Cora said Saturday the infielder, who has been sidelined since late June after suffering a knee contusion, is expected to return after playing Saturday in Triple-A Worcester.
