Winning the breakup is a giant a part of baseball; when given the possibility, make your former workforce remorse letting you go.
That’s precisely what Alex Verdugo and Justin Turner did on Saturday, lifting the Red Sox to a 8-5 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers.
Since Day 1, Verdugo has wished to be greater than the man from the Mookie Betts commerce.
While trades are part of this enterprise, it’s nonetheless fairly an unfair place, discovering oneself dealt to one of many recreation’s most historic franchises in trade for considered one of its most adorned homegrown stars. The pile of cash Harry Frazee obtained from the New York Yankees in trade for Babe Ruth by no means needed to face repeated questions and commentary in regards to the transaction, however Verdugo has been dissected, mentioned, and in comparison with Betts ever since.
So when the 2 lastly obtained to sq. off at Fenway Park this weekend, the highlight obtained even brighter. Especially since each have been within the leadoff spot on Friday and Saturday and beginning in proper area within the second recreation.
On sunny Saturday afternoon, Betts started the competition in bittersweetly-familiar trend. He led off with a double excessive off the Green Monster, and scored the primary run of the competition on Amed Rosario’s single.
Verdugo was to not be outdone. When his flip got here within the backside of the primary, he despatched the second pitch he noticed from Dodgers starter Julio Urias 380 toes, over Betts’ head, and into the bullpen.
For the third consecutive recreation, he’d hit a leadoff homer.
Throughout franchise historical past, six Red Sox leadoff hitters have homered in three consecutive video games, together with Betts, who’s the one participant with two such streaks (each throughout the 2018 season). But not like the opposite 5, Verdugo is the one one whose house runs have been all main off the sport. He’s solely the third MLB participant to ever obtain this feat, becoming a member of Ronald Acuña Jr. (2018 Braves) and Brady Anderson (1996 Orioles), who did so in 4 consecutive video games.
“It’s cool,” Verdugo mentioned. “Especially for me, I’m not a home-run hitter, so to kind of see that, and to know that is pretty cool… Had a good little stretch right there in the leadoff spot.”
“He’s been setting the tempo from the get-go these last three days,” Alex Cora lauded. “He’s in a good spot right now.”
Verdugo’s twelfth house run of the yr means he’s formally surpassed final yr’s totals, and 35 video games quicker, at that. He’s tied the second-highest season whole of his profession, and has 32 video games left to hit his thirteenth, which might tie the career-high he set in 2021.
“Really, for me, it’s just calming myself down, not trying to do to much, just get a good pitch to hit,” Verdugo defined.
Initially, the right-fielder wasn’t positive he’d even be in Saturday’s lineup, not to mention within the leadoff spot.
“I was surprised to lead off,” he admitted. “I anticipated to be in there, and I advised (Cora), ‘I want to be in there,’ however I simply didn’t know the place he was gonna go along with the lineup.
“Once I saw that I was leading off, man, it just fires me up. It fires me up!”
Turner’s circumstances have been barely completely different. The Dodgers declined his membership choice final offseason, however the two sides saved negotiated for over a month. Then, they signed J.D. Martinez, successfully slamming the door on a reunion with Turner, who hit .296 with a .865 OPS over 9 years in Los Angeles, serving to the Dodgers to the postseason yearly, and profitable a hoop there in 2020.
“I’m happy we got J.D.,” Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts advised reporters on Friday, “Certainly sad to lose Justin.”
Probably even sadder on Saturday, when Turner went 3-for-4 with a house run, two runs scored, and two RBI. He’s the seventh participant in franchise historical past to drive in not less than 84 RBI in a season on the age of 38 or older, an elite group that features David Ortiz, Carl Yastrzemski, and Ted Williams.
Back at first base after spending the majority of latest weeks because the designated hitter to restrict stress on his injured heel, Turner additionally helped his workforce shut down their very own ex. When Betts got here as much as bat for the third time, 5 of his teammates had already come to the plate and put one other run on the board. Batting with two on and two out within the high of the fourth, he launched a depraved grounder in the direction of the opening between second and third.
Rafael Devers launched himself on the ball, tumbling to the bottom. He bobbled it, then threw exhausting to first base, the place Turner grabbed it simply in time to make the tag. After a evaluation, the umpires upheld the decision.
The participant the Red Sox selected to pay had outdone the participant they didn’t.
“For his struggles, quote-unquote, he can play like that,” Cora lauded. “Right now, he’s in a good spot defensively… To throw out Mookie in that situation, that was huge. That was huge.”
The ultimate rating belies how a lot of a battle this was from the get-go. Each aspect collected 10 hits, and the Dodgers drew eight walks. LA went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring place, stranding 14 males on base; the Red Sox have been 4-for-13 RISP, solely stranding 5. Both groups’ starters have been charged with not less than 4 earned runs, and James Paxton issued a season-high 5 walks, one thing he had solely achieved 5 instances in his profession and never since 2019.
Adam Duvall made the distinction, sending Dodgers starter Julio Urías on his method with a Sixth-inning 3-run homer for Boston’s first lead of the day. His fifteenth house run of the season was additionally his fourth in his final six video games.
Verdugo sees him as one of many workforce’s “RBI guys.”
“He’s big for us, man,” he mentioned appreciatively. “He’s somebody who can hit righties and lefties, and obviously, play great defense. He just, he’s a guy who seems, when there’s runners on, man, he knows how to get ’em in.”
Saturday was a seemingly limitless stream of chaos, together with Max Muncy and Dodgers supervisor (and 2004 hero) Dave Roberts getting ejected on the finish of the highest of the eighth inning for arguing the home-plate umpire’s Strike 3 name, a Chris Martin pitch considerably under the zone. The following inning, Bryan Hudson took over for the Dodgers and started the body by hitting Devers within the wrist.
The contest solely obtained tougher as the sport progressed.
“From the sixth inning on, every pitch mattered,” the Red Sox supervisor mentioned. “We kept playing, which is the most important thing.”
The high of the sixth was additionally when issues took a flip into unfamiliar and peculiar territory. Pablo Reyes leaving the sport with what was later introduced as “left-elbow pain” compelled the Red Sox supervisor obtained artistic.
“He was in a lot of pain,” Cora mentioned as he mentioned the unorthodox maneuvering. He put Reese McGuire into the sport as catcher, and moved Connor Wong, who’d began behind the dish, to second base. Luis Urías moved from second to 3rd, and Devers moved from third to shortstop, the place he had precisely one recreation of expertise on the place, again in 2019.
“We feel comfortable with (Urías) at third,” he defined. “For the moment, we felt that was the best alignment.” An inning later, he performed defensive musical chairs as soon as once more, sending Wong again to the backstop, Devers to 3rd once more, and Urías resumed second-base duties.
The recreation started in chaos, and chaotic it stayed to the very finish. With Kenley Jansen nonetheless resting his hamstring, Cora despatched John Schreiber to the mound for the highest of the ninth. He’d completed 13 video games and earned eight saves in 2022, however solely entered one recreation in a save state of affairs this yr: final weekend within the Bronx, when he’d been charged with a blown save within the seventh inning.
The 29-year-old right-hander obtained the primary two outs, but additionally loaded the bases. As if scripted by Hollywood, Betts would hit with the sport on the road at his previous ballpark.
As he’d achieved so many instances over time, the celebrity helped the Red Sox win a ballgame, although this time, not on objective. He flew out on the second pitch, sending a ball 383 toes into Adam Duvall’s glove.
“We’re producers not directors,” Betts advised reporters after the loss. “Produced a good swing. Can’t direct where it goes.”
The Red Sox are within the midst of an exhausting stretch. Their final day without work was August 14, they usually received’t have one other till the thirty first. Saturday was Game No. 12 of this 16-day marathon, and the final 10 video games of the month are all towards the Houston Astros and Dodgers.
“We’re gonna play games like this the rest of the way,” Cora mentioned. “This is a tough stretch.”
“We’re considering this as like playoff baseball,” Verdugo mentioned. “Every game matters right now… We know we got some games to catch up on… Every game is a must-win. We just gotta handle our business.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com