ATLANTA -- All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 9-8 win over the Braves, complete with BSJ analysis and insight.
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Comeback habit-forming: Throughout the season, the Red Sox have staged a number of impressive comebacks, including one in which they battled back from five runs down to Tampa early in the year. There was also the extra-inning comeback win over the Yankees in August. But Wednesday's comeback special goes down as the most improbable come-from-behind win of the season, with the Sox held to just two hits through the first seven innings. But one hit at a time, they started to stir in the eighth, sending 12 men to the plate and scoring six to pull even at 7-7. That inning marked the third time this season that the Sox had scored six or more runs in an inning from the eighth inning on. "It's all about them,'' said Alex Cora. "They could have folded and said, 'You know what? Let's go home. It's been a productive road trip. Let's go home and enjoy the off-day and get Houston on Friday.' But there was no sense of that. Everybody was pulling for each other. I pinch-hit for a lot of guys and nobody was upset. We were all-in at that point. That was the most fun I've had all season, just watching those last few innings.''
Win accomplished without much pitching help: Spot starter Hector Velazquez spotted the Braves a quick 2-0 lead in the first as the first four Atlanta hitters of the afternoon reached base. He was done after four innings. Then, it got worse -- much worse. Drew Pomeranz entered and quickly allowed five runs, as the Braves began to pull away and stretched their lead to 7-1. Then, after all the effort the Sox put into their eighth-inning comeback that forged a 7-7 tie, reliever Brandon Workman gave it right back 10 pitches later, yielding a go-ahead homer to Freddie Freeman. Not all the pitching performances were poor -- William Cuevas gave the Sox an inning and two-thirds of scoreless work in relief of Pomeranz and Bobby Poyner tossed a perfect seventh inning with two strikeouts. But overall, this one was accomplished by the hitters, in spite of some of the work turned in by the pitching staff.
All hands on deck: The day began with a makeshift lineup constructed by Cora to give some rest to some regulars. Missing from the original lineup: J.D. Martinez, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Ian Kinsler and Eduardo Nunez. But as the game wore on, and the Red Sox started to rally in the eighth, Cora decided to go "all in.'' Betts pinch-hit for Jackie Bradley Jr. with the bases loaded in the eighth and took a called third strike. Bogaerts worked a walk as a pinch-hitter. Kinsler smacked a two-run single off the bench. When it was over, the Sox had run through a total of 21 players, including 15 position players. In fact, every position player except catcher Sandy Leon and Martinez managed to get into the game. "Thank God for September baseball,'' sighed Alex Cora.
TURNING POINT
The Red Sox trailed 7-1 heading into the eighth, but loaded the bases with no outs and Blake Swihart doubled to right, scoring two and giving the Red Sox two runners in scoring position. It was the first hint that the Red Sox had a comeback of this sort in them. Sure enough, three more hits followed and the Sox got themselves a tie game.
https://twitter.com/MLBStatoftheDay/status/1037444940924678153
TWO UP
Ian Kinsler: Kinsler began the day on the bench, getting a day off, but he was called upon to pinch-hit in the eighth and contributed a huge two-run single to help spur the comeback.
Andrew Benintendi: Benintendi had been scuffling some, but bounced back with a three-hit afternoon, including a leadoff single in the ninth that set the stage for Phillips.
ONE DOWN
Drew Pomeranz: The Sox turned to Pomeranz in a 2-1 game in the fifth and he faltered in a big way, allowing five runs before he could get through the inning.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"I'm just out here playing baseball, happy that the Red Sox gave me the opportunity to do this.''
— Brandon Phillips
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Phillips became the first Red Sox hitter to homer in his debut since Hanley Ramirez on April 6, 2015.
- The Sox are 13-3 in interleague play this season and 25-4 in their last 29 games against N.L. teams.
- The homer by Phillips was the only homer of the series for the Red Sox.
- The six-run eighth was the 11th inning in which the Red Sox have scored six or more runs this season.