Have a day, Bobby Dalbec!
A day after manager Alex Cora said it had been "a struggle" for Bobby Dalbec at first base this season, the Red Sox infielder went off to the tune of a 3-for-4 night with three runs, two homers and seven (!) RBIs in Boston's 12-2 shellacking of the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night.
It certainly must have felt good for Dalbec to have such a strong night for the Sox, especially a day after getting the night off, and knowing that Kyle Schwarber eventually will play first base.
But as great as it was to see Dalbec launch two home runs on the night, Cora was happier to see the 26-year-old come up clutch with base hits.
"He's been really good," Cora said after the game. "Honestly, we're picking and choosing -- we play him against lefties and certain righties, but, he's doing a good job. one thing he's doing lately is pulling the ball. there were a lot of empty fly balls to left field. ... Forget the home runs I was more happy with the second and third, infield in and base hit u the middle, that's what we're looking for. Obviously the homers are great, but that was a great at-bat, and he made a nice play at first base. All around pretty solid, it was good to see."
Dalbec even received a curtain call after his second home run, something he very much deserved.
"It was awesome. A crazy feeling," he said. "It's something you dream about as a kid."
Here are some other notes from Thursday's Red Sox-Twins game:
-- Chris Sale shined once again in his third start back from Tommy John surgery.
The lefty lasted 5 1/3 innings -- his longest outing this season -- and gave up two earned runs with as many hits and walks while amassing eight strikeouts.
Sale also threw an immaculate third inning. This marked the third time he has done so in his career, joining only Sandy Koufax as the lone pitchers to complete that feat.
-- Sale, though, wasn't thinking about that immaculate inning. Instead he was thinking about how he gave up a home run, then proceeded to throw a 98-mph fastball.
"That's probably the most pissed I've been on the baseball field in a while," he said. "That's just coming out of anger and frustration. I like to call those F-U fastballs. I got pissed and I got going. ..."
-- Rafael Devers also made some history, as well.
The third baseman joined Nomar Garciaparra and Ted Williams as the only Red Sox players to have multiple 30-plus home run seasons "through their age 24 season," according to MLB Stats on Twitter.
"I bet he's about to get hot," Cora said. "... He's just a special player."
-- Matt Barnes, after getting Tuesday night off due to a bad month of August, pitched in the ninth with the Red Sox up 12-2. Cora did mention he was unsure if Barnes would pitch in a save situation in his next appearance, or if he'd come in during a low-leverage part of the game.
It wasn't all that pretty in the end, but he was able to close out the game.
-- Schwarber had another productive day at the plate.
If you look at the box score, though, you'd see he went just 1-for-1 with a run. But he did draw four walks, showcasing once again just how patient he is at the dish.
-- The Red Sox begin a new series Friday when they hit the road to take on the Cleveland Indians.
