The source of the run was unlikely, as David Hamilton only logged one hit through his first nine games this season. And even when Hamilton tattooed a Zack Littell heater in the third inning, very few probably thought the baseball was going to travel over the fence.
Even the man who made the violent contact didn’t see it coming.
“I was hoping it would get down for (a hit) but no, I didn’t think it was going over,” Hamilton told reporters, per MassLive.
Hamilton’s homer was the definition of a frozen rope, as it had an exit velocity of 105.8 mph with a launch angle of only 20 degrees. And with a distance of 335 feet, the baseball just barely made it into the right-field seats. Narrow margins proved to be the theme of the night for the Red Sox, who claimed their series with the Rays by notching a 1-0 win in the finale.
Story continues below advertisement
The victory, which featured an outstanding bullpen performance, left Boston with a .500 record for both its six-game road trip and the season as a whole. After a day off Thursday, the Red Sox will go for their third straight win Friday when they open a four-game set against the Chicago White Sox.
