Moreland belts game-winner, but Hembree, Vazquez helped, too

Mitch Moreland was the one being mobbed at home plate, showered with Gatorade and interviewed live on the giant video board in center field.

And why not? Moreland’s two-out, solo homer in the bottom of the 11th inning pushed the Red Sox to a 3-2 walkoff win over the Chicago White Sox Friday night.  Without Moreland’s heroics, perhaps the Red Sox are still playing.

But close, extra-inning games are precarious things, with little margin for error. One mistake, one failure to execute, can doom a team in such games. So if Moreland was the night’s hero, he had plenty of help getting there. There was the superb work of the bullpen, which contributed scoreless frame after scoreless frame following Eduardo Rodriguez’s meter ran all the way up to 118 pitches for just six innings.

The Red Sox bullpen, which added Addison Reed earlier in the week, has now strung together 8.2 scoreless innings over the last two nights, as one power righthander tosses the baton to the next.

But had it not been for two extraordinary plays in the top of the 11th, the Sox might not have posted their sixth extra-inning victory or earned their fourth walkoff in their last six Fenway victories.

“We executed at critical moments, late in the ballgame, and it allowed us the opportunity to walk it off,’’ said John Farrell.

A leadoff walk and a single up the middle gave the White Sox runners at first and second with no outs. To the surprise of absolutely no one, Chicago center field Adam Engel dropped down a bunt in an attempt to move the baserunners into scoring position.

But Heath Hembree pounced off the mound, picked up the ball and fired a missile to third baseman Rafael Devers.

“I was sold out (for third) the whole time,’’ said Hembree, who earned the win in relief. “I knew he was bunting, so I was thinking ‘I’m gonna get off the mound and go to third,’ and if he’s safe, I’ll work from there. But I was sold out going to third the whole time.

And Yoan Moncada was safe according to third base umpire Jerry Layne. But only brielfly.  The Red Sox challenged the call and a review reversed the call.

“When he made the (safe) call, I really wasn’t worried,’’ said Hembree. “I felt like I saw it pretty good in front of me and I thought we had him out.  I never really worried. I knew the review was coming and I knew he was out.’’

Still, the White Sox had runners at first and second and just one out. But again, only briefly.

Christian Vazquez, on an 0-and-2 pitch to Yolmer Sanchez, saw that Nicky Delmonico was being aggressive off the bag.

“He was taking a big lead off second base,’’ said Vazquez, “so I was trying to get balanced (for a throw). He slipped to get back and that was the key.’’

Very quickly the Red Sox had gone from the potential of having the bases loaded and no outs to two outs and a baserunner on first.

“Getting the guy at third took a little pressure off,’’ said Hembree. “But then when Vasky picked the guy off second, that took a lot of pressure off. I could pretty much attack the next guy because a single doesn’t score the run.’’

Maybe with all the tight, long ballgames the Red Sox have played help the Sox cope.  Eventually, enough practice makes perfect.

“I don’t know that that makes us any more comfortable or relaxed,’’ said Farrell. “But we’ve found ourselves in that position many times.’’