Looking to snap a 4-game dropping streak, Red Sox clubhouse supervisor Tommy McLaughlin determined an excessive makeover was so as.
So, it was the Yellow Sox who greeted and defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-2 at Fenway Park on Monday night.
“In case of emergency, wear yellow,” Alex Cora joked pregame.
Since debuting their City Connect uniforms in April 2021, the Yellow Sox are 21-4 of their banana-and-blue outfits, which pay homage to the Boston Marathon and Patriots Day. The squad entered Monday with a 9-game profitable streak within the unorthodox ensemble, relationship again to July 28 of final 12 months.
Make that 22-4, due to Pablo Reyes.
It was a strong night time for Brayan Bello, too, although he needed to get himself out and in of a number of jams.
“Kind of grinding through it early,” his supervisor stated.
For the primary time because the All-Star break, he recorded an out within the seventh inning. He walked off the mound with two outs within the seventh, having allowed six hits, two walks, and putting out two. The runner he left behind would rating when Josh Winckowski took over, but it surely was a robust begin nonetheless.
Notably, for the primary time since his June 29 begin, Bello didn’t surrender a house run. Keeping the ball within the yard signaled a return to kind for the younger right-hander, who’d proven spectacular restraint in that regard throughout his rookie season final 12 months; over the primary 44 1/3 innings of his MLB profession, he didn’t permit a single house run, the longest such streak by a Red Sox rookie since Rick Jones in 1976.
But from begin to end, the night time belonged to Reyes. The 29-year-old infielder, who’d solely collected one single in his final 5 video games, went 3-for-4 and scored or drove in each one in all his staff’s runs, capping off the efficiency by hitting his first main league house run since September 2021: a walk-off grand slam.
Even the information of Trevor Story’s impending return on Tuesday couldn’t hearth up the Boston bats. Aside from Reyes, who scored each of his staff’s solely runs within the first eight innings, the remainder of the lineup had solely collected two hits and one stroll after they reached the underside of the ninth.
Royals starter Cole Ragans had Boston’s quantity from the beginning, inducing 9 swings and misses within the first 4 innings. When he exited after 6 2/3, he’d struck out 11 batters, and solely one of many two runs scored throughout his outing have been earned.
“That kid’s really, really good,” Cora lauded. “That’s A-plus. That’s a lot of good pitching the whole season, and the ability to throw 98, 99 mph, the good changeup, cutter, stuff-wise, one of the best that we’ve seen.”
The Red Sox couldn’t get to the Royals bullpen, both. When Cora went to Jarren Duran and Alex Verdugo to pinch-hit as the primary and second batters within the backside of the eighth, they instantly floor out and flew out. Masataka Yoshida, whose first-inning single was one in all Boston’s solely 4 hits within the first eight innings, grew to become the third and ultimate batter of the penultimate body.
For the tenth time this 12 months, Cora went to his nearer in a tied recreation; Kenley Jansen took the mound within the ninth, trying to depart it the identical manner. In these earlier 9 outings, opposing batters have been 7-for-24 towards the veteran hurler, with three additional base hits, two stolen bases, six strikeouts, and 0 walks.
This time, no mercy. Jansen acquired the Royals 1-2-3, capping off the body with a swinging strikeout and strikeout wanting.
With that, Dropkick Murphy’s “Shipping Up To Boston” blasting to the brand new accompanying mild present, and a passionate Fenway Faithful urging them on, the second was ripe for the choosing.
After Justin Turner lead off and flew out, Rafael Devers acquired an approving roar from the gang when he ripped a 1-out ground-rule double over the right-field wall. Adam Duvall struck out for the fourth time, and Triston Casas took an intentional stroll to hitch Devers on the bases.
From there, the sport went off the rails, however for the primary time this homestand, the chaos was in Boston’s favor. After a mound go to to Carlos Hernandez, the Royals righty walked Luis Urías, and his skipper, Matt Quatraro, acquired himself ejected, arguing that Urías hadn’t checked his swing.
With two outs and the bases loaded, who else, however Reyes? The night time was his from the beginning, and so he’d be the one to complete it, within the grandest vogue. He squared as much as bunt on the primary pitch, however let it go previous for a ball. The second pitch, he despatched caroming off left-field’s Fisk Pole for a walk-off grand slam.
It was his first main league house run since September 2021, however postgame, he stated he’d closed out a more moderen contest the identical manner within the minor leagues final 12 months.
“It was a great game for Pablo, I’m very proud of him,” his supervisor stated.
“He’s a good kid, and there’s a reason he’s here,” Cora added. “We like his versatility, we like his at-bats against lefties… he’s a good player, he is a really good player, a good kid.”
According to Bello, Reyes was primed for a giant night time. Standing within the clubhouse after the win, he smiled as he defined that his teammate lived as much as his phrase.
“I’m very happy for him,” Bello stated by means of translator Carlos Villoria Benitez. “He’s been telling me that he was going to hit a home run the whole week.”
Minutes later, Reyes smiled as he defined Bello’s revelation.
“Everybody was like, Devers, like my teammates, everyone was talking like, ‘Pablo, when are you going to hit a homer?’ I say, I’m gonna try this week when I have an opportunity, when they give me the opportunity, I’m gonna go there, and I’m gonna try.”
When the second got here, he stated he realized, “Well, I got to try to go for the big swing.”
Cora didn’t draw back from how huge that swing actually was.
“Sometimes, games like that kind of like, get you going,” the supervisor stated. “And we needed to get going.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com