Seeds of Red Sox comeback sewn in spring training with unique drill

It was the final 10 days or so of spring training, when restlessness sets in and players are antsy to start playing games that finally mean something. But Red Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers had a plan to alleviate the boredom, and just maybe, help the hitters prepare for something that might take place on the season began.

Twice in the final week and a half, Hyers gathered most of the Red Sox regulars on a field and set up a batting practice machine. The goal was to work on situational hitting, and Hyers instructed the players to imagine a specific scenario: two outs and two strikes on the hitter. The machine was set on high to replicate the sort of velocity they might be seeing from a fresh, power reliever in the late innings.

"The drill is designed to get their mind in that spot,'' Hyers told BostonSportsJournal.com. "So when you're in a spot like that, you've already been there before. It was done to help them in situations like this. We cranked the machine up pretty good, so it wasn't an easy at-bat. Let's see you fight and see what you can do."

Evidently, it worked. Or it sure seemed to pay dividends in the eighth inning Sunday. The Sox had managed all of four hits -- all but one of them singles -- through the first seven innings.

After a leadoff single by Hanley Ramirez, J.D. Martinez fanned and Brock Holt flew out to left. One out left. As soon as the rally started, it seems, it was about to fizzle out.

But then something kicked in.

A double to left by Mitch Moreland, scoring Ramirez. A single up the middle from Eduardo Nunez, sending Moreland to third. A double down the left-field line by Rafael Devers which kicked off the garage door in foul territory and scored both baserunners. Then a single from Christian Vazquez, followed by a wild pitch. Then a game-tying single from Mookie Betts, and finally, a double which short-hopped the Wall from Andrew Benintendi and gave the Red Sox their first lead since the first, and, after a 1-2-3 ninth from closer Craig Kimbrel, resulted in a sparkling 8-7 comeback win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

In the span of six batters, all with two outs, most with two strikes, one Red Sox hitter after another came through.

"Guys were just scrapping and trying to pass the baton one step further,'' said Hyers.

"It kind of speaks to what this team is and who we are as a group,'' said Moreland, who had not had a hit all season until his run-scoring double began the parade. "You could see it out there. I don't think it ever crossed anyone's mind that they were out of that game. We all felt like, 'Let's just keep chipping away and make something happen.' With this group in here, we've got the ability to do that.''

It probably helped that the final three hits came off Rays closer Alex Colome, whom the Sox had clipped for two runs in the bottom of the ninth in the home opener Thursday, sending the game to extra innings before the Sox closed it out in the 12th. It gives a team confidence to know they've gotten to a pitcher before.

Then again, the first four hits of the rally had come against Matt Andriese.

After a while, regardless of who was on the mound, the Sox seemed set on coming all the way back. A frigid Fenway had emptied an inning before, but those who remained filled the park with life after every hit. And when you have one team that has won seven in a row, and the other that has dropped seven-straight -- five to this very team -- the scoreboard didn't seem to matter much.

On the Rays' side, the doubt was beginning to creep in. For the Sox, the confidence surged with each baserunner, with each run cutting further into the lead.

"We've been there before and we've done it before,'' said Betts. "It takes one at a time and that was our mindset.''

Tellingly, there were no homers in this rally, which made the inning all the more challenging. Had there been a three-run homer to grab a bunch of runs with a single swing, that might have made it easier. Instead, the Sox built this comeback around singles and doubles.

Mostly though, it was about a mindset and a certain mental toughness: Never mind the score, just keep grinding. That can be a tough sell with four outs left and five runs to make up.

It's easy to think, Not today - can't win them all. Instead, the hits just kept coming, helped, maybe, by memories of a spring training drill designed for circumstances exactly like this.

"This group in here, so far, they're not giving anything away,'' said Hyers.