The Boston Red Sox seem to have no plans of just fading into the background over the final two months of the regular season.
In fact, the Red Sox showed they still have plenty of fight left on Friday night.
Boston overcame a one-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth against the New York York Yankees, and then in the following frame, Tommy Pham delivered a clutch single down the third-base line to lift the Red Sox to a 3-2 walk-off victory at Fenway Park.
The thrilling win in that type of fashion might be the catalyst for the Red Sox to go on a much-needed tear and pick up ground in the American League Wild Card playoff race.
“We were resilient tonight,” Pham told NESN’s Jahmai Webster, as seen on the network’s postgame coverage. “We needed that win, man. Wins like that can get you (going).”
Pham defined being resilient with his final at-bat in the game. Up to that point, the newly acquired outfielder had gone 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. But that was far from Pham’s mind when he stepped to the plate against Lou Trivino with runners on the corners and out one.
“End it,” Pham told Webster of his mentality in the pressure-packed situation. “We don’t get paid for overtime.”
The Red Sox certainly display their heart in the dramatic win over the Yankees. Boston received a litany of contributions as well to get the job done and the victory should not only provide confidence for the Red Sox, but it should also serve as a building block for the team to try to keep pushing forward.
“They’re all big,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora, said as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “We know where we’re at. Just got to keep going out there, grinding and win ball games.”
Here are more notes from Friday’s Red Sox-Yankees games:
— J.D. Martinez showed signs he’s finally breaking out of his slump. Martinez went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, including knocking in the game-tying run with a single up the middle in the bottom of the ninth.
“He’s making a conscious effort to stay in the zone and he did tonight,” Cora said. “That was a great at-bat at the end. He will hit. He will hit. When? Hopefully, it started today. At one point he will hit.”
— Red Sox starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi wasn’t his sharpest again, and he had decreased velocity on his fastball, but he gutted through six innings. The right-hander allowed two runs on eight hits while letting up two walks and striking out three.
— Boston’s bullpen was dynamite, only surrendering one hit and no runs over four combined innings. Garrett Whitlock starred as part of the strong relief showing, tossing two scoreless innings to earn the win. Whitlock kept New York at bay over the final two frames, allowing no hits and one walk while striking out three.
“He came in there in that situation, and that part of the order as well, that’s huge,” Pham said of Whitlock. “When he came in there and shut it down like that, I knew we were going to win. It was destiny. To get through their two, three, four (hitters) in that lineup, that says something about (Whitlock).”
— Aaron Judge continues to be on an offensive tear as he clobbered his 46th home run of the season in the top of the third inning.
— The Red Sox are now 5-6 against the Yankees on the season.
