Red Sox Notes: Adam Duvall Flipped ‘Ego Pitch’ To Boston’s Advantage

The Boston Red Sox were in dire need of some late-inning magic Wednesday night, and that’s where Adam Duvall came in.

Duvall, who had already homered in Boston’s two previous matchups with the Astros to begin the road series, struck Houston yet again. But this time, it rewarded a gritty collective effort and provided Boston with a sigh of relief amid the most critical point of its season.

In the top of the 10th inning, Duvall crushed a game-deciding three-run home run to put the Red Sox on top for good, charging Astros reliever Kendall Graveman for his costly mistake in Boston’s 7-5 victory.

Duvall almost didn’t get that chance, though. On the pitch prior to Duvall’s clutch round-tripper, it looked like he might come out of the game after fouling the ball off his foot. But he stayed in to deliver the biggest hit of the game for the Red Sox.

“Honestly, I don’t know how I hit it after what I did,” Duvall told NESN’s Jahmai Webster postgame. “I was joking with the guys and said, ‘I’m not gonna take my shoe off tonight,’ cause it got me, it squared me up.

“… He’s throwing me turbo sinkers in there so you gotta think after I fouled one off my foot, you know, as an ego pitch, he’s probably trying to go back in there. I was looking at it in there and got it.”

Before the start of the four-game set in Houston, Duvall was batting just .189 with six RBIs in the month of August. However, it appears the 34-year-old is flipping the switch at the plate at just the right time.

“He’s made some adjustments and he’s catching up with the fastball and he’s pulling the ball,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “And I think he mentioned that a few weeks ago that he was missing that and so far here he’s put three great swings and that was huge for us tonight.”

Here are more notes from Wednesday’s Red Sox-Astros game:

— The Red Sox climbed up in the American League Wild Card standings, now four games back for the final playoff spot.

“I’m not gonna lie, we’re watching. So, we gained ground but we gotta come tomorrow and win the series,” Cora explained. “We win the series it’s a great road trip for us. And then we go home and we gotta keep grinding.”

— All-Star closer Kenley Jansen made an early exit after recording just one out in the ninth inning. Afterward, it was revealed that Jansen’s exit was due to right hamstring tightness.

— The Red Sox improved to 34-34 when facing teams with a .500 or better record. They’re 1-2 against the Astros and 13-12 against the AL West this season.

— Alex Verdugo and Trevor Story each doubled, raising Boston’s season total to 274, which leads all teams in Major League Baseball.

— Boston and Houston will wrap up its four-game series on Thursday afternoon with the Red Sox seeking a split. First pitch from Minute Maid Park is set for 2:10 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN.