Red Sox Notes: Alex Cora, Boston Undeterred By Ninth Inning Stumble

The Boston Red Sox played eight great innings in their win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday. Unfortunately, it seems as though people will remember the ninth.

Boston entered the final frame up by five runs, but allowed St. Louis to catch fire and almost steal the victory. Despite that, Red Sox manager Alex Cora is still pleased with the win.

“We put ourselves in bad situations to get that 27th out,” Cora said in his postgame media availability, as seen on NESN. “But overall, we ran the bases well, played good defense. We pitched well. So like I’ve been saying all along, we have a good baseball team. We do.

“Where we’re at right now is where we’re at. We won a lot of games to get to this point. We didn’t start the season the way we wanted, and I said it all along, we have to work very hard to get to the point where we’re in the conversation. And I think we are, and I think we’re playing good baseball. We’re playing really good baseball.”

The first 26 outs seemed to be easy for the Red Sox, as they truly dominated throughout the game. As you can tell by Cora’s comments, that is where the Red Sox will place their focus, even if no one else does.

Red Sox Wrap: Boston Survives Scary Ninth In Win Vs. Cardinals

Jun 17, 2022

Here are more notes from Friday’s Red Sox-Cardinals:

— The Red Sox allowed four runs in the ninth inning on four hits by the Cardinals’ 7-8-1-2 hitters. Despite nailing down the save, Boston still has more blown saves (14) than converted saves (13) this season.

— Trevor Story reclaimed his place among the top five RBI leaders in the American League. He talked about fighting through a recent slump with NESN’s Jahmai Webster.

“It’s about the process. It’s tough when you don’t see it on the field every single night, but that’s baseball,” Story said. “… It’s about the adjustments and I feel good about the work that we’re doing.”

— Red Sox starter Michael Wacha got the win over the Cardinals, defeating the team that drafted him for the very first time. He talked about the emotions that arose from his performance in the clubhouse following the game, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage.

“I tried not to let myself think about it too much. I tried to just approach it just like any other start,” Wacha said.

— Nolan Arenado continued to crush Michael Wacha, going 2-for-2 with a walk and a home run in three plate appearances against the former Cardinal on Friday. He’s now batting .500 with four home runs in his career off Wacha.

— Austin Davis’ scoreless innings streak was snapped at 13 2/3 as he allowed his first run since May 4 in the ninth inning.

— The Red Sox will play the second of their three-game set against the Cardinals on Saturday night at Fenway Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET on FOX.