Tuesday night’s Twins-Red Sox game at Fenway Park had a little bit of everything.
There were sharp outings from both starting pitchers, a walk-off hit and even an appearance from a few animal spectators. Oh yeah, Boston also utilized one of its pitchers in a role off the mound.
After the series opener drifted into extra innings, Red Sox manager Alex Cora called on Kutter Crawford to be the club’s automatic runner on second base to start the bottom of the 10th. Boston ran out of position players after a double-switch in the ninth, which forced Cora to tap into his pitching staff for some wheels. And the pick was Crawford, who probably wasn’t expecting to have his number called after pitching 6 1/3 innings Monday.
“When they called my name in the bullpen, I couldn’t believe it,” Crawford told reporters, per MLB.com. “I asked (bullpen coach Kevin Walker), ‘Are you serious? Like me?’ He said, ‘Yeah get your legs loose, you’re pinch-running, and I said, ‘All right, well, here we go.'”
Crawford ended up taking a trip around the base paths on a game-tying, two-RBI single off the bat of Reese McGuire. The clutch knock set the stage for Alex Verdugo, who did the walk-off honors with a game-winning single that tucked inside the right-field foul line.
One has to imagine Cora hopes to never use Crawford as a pinch-runner ever again. But if the Red Sox ever find themselves in a similar jam, they now know the 27-year-old right-hander can rise to the occasion.
