The Red Sox clubbed one of their biggest hits of the season Monday night, and their manager missed it.
Boston kicked off its four-game series with Toronto on the highest of notes thanks to Alex Verdugo. Verdugo, who smacked a walk-off single Saturday at Fenway Park, took on the role of hero again with a game-ending home run off of the Blue Jays’ 2022 All-Star closer Jordan Romano. The dramatic victory put the Red Sox two games above .500 for the first time this year.
One has to imagine few were happier for Verdugo than Cora, who over the offseason challenged the talented outfielder to level up in 2023. But on one of the biggest nights for Verdugo in a Red Sox uniform, Boston’s skipper didn’t catch his shining moment.
“Honestly, I didn’t even see it,” Cora told reporters, per MassLive. “I was talking to Wink (Josh Winckowski) about something the next inning and then all of a sudden, the whole dugout kind of went quiet. I look up, I was like, ‘Oh.'”
Verdugo basked in the glory after lifting the Red Sox to a win, explaining he “lives” for the high-pressure moments. Boston’s sparkplug and the rest of his team will try to notch a second straight win over Toronto on Tuesday night, with NESN’s full coverage beginning at 6 p.m. ET.
