Boston Red Sox power past low-flying Blue Jays: 3 clutch moments
The Boston Red Sox used a late display of power Tuesday night to rally past the Toronto Blues with a 10-7 victory in 10 innings.
There is something amazing going on with this 2018 Boston Red Sox team. If you are a critic, go ahead and continue to doubt. If you are a fan, however, just enjoy what is going on.
On a hot mid-summer night in Toronto, the Red Sox showed they weren’t ready to cool down after a four-game sweep of the New York Yankees. Showing the same fight they did in Sunday night’s dramatic comeback victory, Boston rallied down three runs to eventually overtake the low-flying Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
It didn’t start off that great. Starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz proved once again that he has a long way to go if he is to become the pitcher he was in 2017. He only yielded two runs, but his five walks took him off the mound after just 4 2/3 innings.
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Luckily, Alex Cora’s team was able to battle back with a late power surge to eventually ahead in the game on a clutch 3-run home run off the bat of J.D. Martinez. However, the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead which is another cause for concern.
Matt Barnes gave up an RBI double to Luke Maile to pull the Blue Jays back within one run in the bottom of the eighth. Then Craig Kimbrel allowed Toronto to tie the game by giving up a solo shot to Justin Smoak. Kimbrel went on to eventually get the win as the Red Sox bats put up five runs in the 10th, but the closer’s recent struggles is something to watch.
"“I think it’s been command of everything. You can throw strikes but it depends on where you’re throwing them,” Kimbrel said following the game, via MLB.com. “You can have command in the zone or out of the zone. You kind of float through those as the year goes on. The last couple of weeks I’ve been struggling with some things and working through them. Fastball was a little better tonight and breaking ball was sharp at times. It’s frustrating, but happy we won the game today.”"
As disappointing of a night as it was for Drew Pomeranz, Matt Barnes and Craig Kimbrel, it is good to see the offense able to pick up the slack when the pitching is down. That is what makes this 2018 team unique. When the offense struggles, the pitching comes through and vice versa. That is a reason why this team has 80 wins and are on pace to 114.
Sum it all up to clutch moments and clutch performances from different players each night.