Alex Cora Praises Bobby Dalbec As Red Sox Slugger Hits Ninth-Inning Blast

Bobby Dalbec ultimately was not rewarded for his go-ahead home run in Saturday night’s eventual 7-6 defeat to the Seattle Mariners, but Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora nevertheless was impressed.

With the Red Sox and Mariners tied at 5-all, Dalbec stepped to the plate with two outs and picked up a pair of quick strikes. The Red Sox slugger then worked back from an 0-2 count, fouling off a trio of pitches from Mariners right-hander Paul Sewald, before hitting the eighth pitch of the at-bat into the left-field seats. It gave the Red Sox a one-run lead with three outs remaining before Hansel Robles blew the save in the home half of the frame.

“Really good,” Cora said of Dalbec’s 356-foot homer on a slider from Sewald, as transcribed by MLB.com. “He fouled off some tough pitches, fastballs up in the zone, and then he got a hanging slider and he put a good swing. We talked (Friday), he’s in a much better place. I think his timing is a lot better. He’s on time, and he’s able to hit fastballs and lay off some pitches. That was a big swing for us.”

It was the second straight game in which Dalbec delivered a game-changing home run. The Red Sox first baseman gave Boston a 4-3 lead Friday night with his blast in the seventh inning, proving to be the game-winning hit.

Dalbec now has at least one RBI in five straight contests.

The Red Sox will close out their series and road trip against the Mariners on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET at T-Mobile Park, and you can watch it on NESN after an hour of pregame coverage.