Fenway was full of emotion and excitement on Friday night, as the long-awaited return of the Prodigal Son to Boston had finally arrived. The day that many fans had circled on their calendars since the schedule was released almost a year ago brought a little extra excitement, with the Sox actually in a playoff race and a pair of exceptional veteran pitchers facing off.
That pitching duel never really materialized, however, as both pitchers struggled early and had difficulty retiring batters, especially with two outs.
San Francisco jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Gray surrendered a two-out single to Bryce Eldridge in the top of the third. It was an inning that saw Gray uncharacteristically walk two batters and allow two hits.
In the bottom of the third, it was time for Webb’s unraveling!
With a man on and two outs, Wilyer Abreu delivered one of his three hits to put two men on for Willson Contreras. It is clear that Willson holds grudges and definitely plays with anger and aggression at times, because what he did to a 1-1 changeup would be considered a Class B felony in most states.
Not only could the 450-foot homer be considered assault and battery on Logan Webb, I wouldn’t be surprised if Contreras is cited as the at-fault driver in what I’m sure was a 10-car pileup on the Mass Pike, caused when his baseball landed in the windshield of some poor schlub heading to the Cape for one last weekend of summer fun!
It was clear Webb was staggered by Contreras’s assault, as he surrendered back-to-back singles to Rutschman and Durbin, then drilled Duran before walking Monasterio to make the score 4-1. He followed that by plunking Mickey Mantle, (sorry Gasper) to make it 5-1.
The not-so-quality pitching from the starters wasn’t over, though, as Gray couldn’t deliver the shutdown inning in the fourth. In fact, it seemed like he was more interested in pouring gasoline on the emotional bonfire at Fenway than winning the game.
Again, with two outs, he surrendered a Baltimore-chop double down the left-field line and then a two-run dinger to Drew Gilbert to cut Boston’s lead to two.
This, of course, brought Rafael Devers to the plate. As we have seen countless times before, when Raffy has a pitcher on the ropes, he loves to deliver a haymaker, and that’s exactly what he did.
On the first pitch he saw, Scoops drove a 412-foot frozen rope into the centerfield bleachers, providing the Fenway Faithful with the familiar sight of his full-extension swing as he stood in the box and watched the ball, and perhaps a little of his pride, soar through the Boston night.
From there, Gray was able to settle down and work his way through the sixth, at which point Chad Tracy turned to the trio of Miller, Gamboa, and Chapman, who each pitched a scoreless inning to lock down the victory.
To the Moon, Alice!
The blast Willson Contreras hit was very reminiscent of Manny Ramirez’s walk-off homer against the Angels in 2007.
The moment he made contact, everyone in the park erupted from their seats because there was absolutely no doubt about it. Abreu, who was on first base, didn’t even have time to take an aggressive step toward second. He instantly knew it was trotting time.
The only thing missing from the scene was watching the ball travel toward the Citgo sign as it soared over the Monster and disappeared into the Boston night.
That swing had to feel incredible for Contreras, who, when we last saw him at Fenway, was screaming and shouting at fans after receiving boos for what many considered a lack of adequate hustle.
Well, Willson, the best way to avoid getting booed for not hustling is simply to hit the ball so hard and so far that you can enjoy a nice, leisurely stroll around the bases instead. Problem solved!
Nightmare on Jersey Street
In an incredible display of horror for the pitchers, all ten runs scored on Friday night came with two outs. I don’t know whether to compliment the offenses or criticize the pitching! Either way, that’s a feat seldom seen on a baseball field and one that will give pitchers and managers nightmares for days to come.
Maybe there really was something tangled in Webb after all.
The Elefante in the Room
So Devers finally made his return to Fenway, and the reception was a mixed bag throughout the night.
When he was first introduced, there was a combination of boos and cheers, although it certainly sounded as if the disheartened Sox fans were more numerous.
That’s interesting because, if you sit back and look at the trade, it was clear that Boston’s front office and ownership were interested in dumping salary when they had the opportunity. I wonder if the reception for Devers would have been different had the Sox not been playing so well.
I also wonder if some of the responses were more a reflection of how fans currently feel about Breslow and Henry than how they actually feel about Devers.
After the initial negative reaction, the Red Sox showed a tribute video to Scoops on the Jumbotron between the first and second innings. This time, the response was far more positive and appreciative of his contributions during the good times in Boston.
Overall, the fight seemed to end in a draw between Devers and Boston.
One decent booing versus one respectful ovation.
At the plate, he went 1-3 with a walk, a strikeout, and a homer.
I’d say everyone got a little of what they wanted out of this game. Fans had an opportunity to express their displeasure with the way Devers acted at the beginning of last year. Devers got an opportunity to remind them of what they were missing.
And, most importantly...The Red Sox won!
Imagine Courtesy of clutchpoints.com