Kyle Schwarber had no momentum going into his pivotal at-bat Tuesday night in Seattle.
The Red Sox slugger was riding an 0-for-16 slump when manager Alex Cora called his number in the eighth inning against the Mariners. Not to mention, Schwarber the night prior committed a costly error in Boston’s frustrating 5-4 loss at T-Mobile Park.
But Schwarber put all of those woes behind him when his team needed it most. Batting in place of catcher Kevin Plawecki, Schwarber broke a 2-2 tie with a clutch, three-run double. The Red Sox went on to claim an 8-4 win, marking their first victory since last Saturday.
Schwarber’s mindset heading into the high-pressure situation was pretty simple.
“The biggest thing I was thinking about was putting the ball in play,” Schwarber told reporters, per MLB.com “Bases loaded, tie ballgame — put pressure on the defense, that’s kind of the biggest thing there.”
And despite his recent shortcomings, Schwarber seemingly stepped into the batter’s box Tuesday night confident as ever.
“The 0-for-whatever, obviously they’re tough times there. but you just got to be able to trust your process in the cage,” he told reporters. “Trust your process on the field and batting practice and things like that for when you get into a spot like that.
“Those are spots you want to be in as a baseball player — and want to be able to come through for your team.”
Schwarber and the Red Sox will try to win the series against the Mariners on Wednesday. NESN’s coverage of the finale begins at 3 p.m. ET.
