Boston Red Sox: 10 Best moments of 2018 season
By Justin Keene
7. Comeback against Atlanta Braves 9-8
September 5 – Boston Red Sox @ Atlanta Braves
In their last game playing by National League rules (until the World Series) the Boston Red Sox sent Hector Velazquez to the mound to oppose the Atlanta Braves’ Mike Foltynewicz. Velazquez let up two runs in his 4 innings of work and gave way to Drew Pomeranz in the 5th inning. It got very ugly once the big lefty entered the game. In 0.1 innings pitched, Pomeranz let up 5 runs on 3 hits, walking 2 on 28 pitches. Alex Cora had to dig deep into his bullpen going through William Cuevas and Bobby Poyner for the next two innings, bringing us to the 8th.
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With new pitcher Dan Winkler on the mound for the Braves, the Red Sox offense took over. The inning was led off by a Christian Vazquez single to right field. Tzu-Wei Lin followed with his own single, to left field, giving the Red Sox runners on first and second with Jackie Bradley Jr. coming up. Bradley Jr. would load the bases with his own single, as the Red Sox were threatening for the first time since the 2nd inning. Winkler was then chased from the game, as Blake Swihart hit a double to deep right field, scoring 2 still with no outs.
With lefty Andrew Benintendi due up next, the Braves went to a lefty of their own in Jonny Venters. The matchup would work in Boston’s favor, as Benintendi would drive in JBJ, bringing the score to 7-4.
Steve Pearce would then pinch hit for Mitch Moreland and make the first out, but also driving in the Red Sox 5th run of the game. Brandon Phillips would then reach on a throwing error, and after Ian Kinsler was announced as the pinch hitter for Rafael Devers, the Braves would dig into their bullpen yet again; bringing in right handed specialist Brad Brach.
Ian Kinsler would then tie the game with an RBI single. The Red Sox managed to scrape together 6 runs in the inning as it was a whole new ballgame heading into the bottom of the 8th inning. Brandon Workman would be the new pitcher on the mound for Boston.
After two quick outs, Freddie Freeman would take the lead back for the Braves due to a solo shot to right field, giving the Braves an 8-7 lead heading into the 9th inning. With closer A.J. Minter on the mound for the Braves, they looked to close the game out. After getting Swihart to pop out, Minter gave up a single to Benintendi. Steve Pearce would then strike out looking, leaving the Red Sox to their final out. Brandon Phillips turned on the first pitch he saw and took the Braves closer deep, giving the Red Sox a 9-7 lead.
The Boston Red Sox would bring in their own closer in Craig Kimbrel for the bottom of the 9th inning. Kimbrel would pick up his 38th save of the season, sealing a roller coaster of a victory for the Sox. It was truly an amazing comeback by the Red Sox, proving that you could never really count them out no matter how many runs they were down.