Boston won its fourth game in a row on Saturday night with an extra-innings victory that shouldn’t have gone to extra innings. After looking rather dominant through six innings, mostly thanks to another great start from ace Garrett Crochet, the Sox bounced back from allowing a three-run home run in the top of the seventh with Triston Casas’ first walkoff of his career in the bottom of the tenth. Crochet cooked his former team once again while Rafael Devers drove in all three of the Red Sox’s runs in the first nine innings with a three-run shot of his own in the fifth. The Sox loaded the bases in the ninth, but failed to capitalize as Alex Bregman struck out swinging on a full count. Loading the bases again in the 10th, Boston took advantage on that chance as Casas banged a walkoff single off the Monster to drive Bregman in for the winning run.
Three studs
Garrett Crochet: While Crochet’s outing wasn’t as dominant as the no-hitter he carried into the eighth inning in his last outing against the White Sox, he had a solid go-around once again against his former team with a six-inning, seven-strikeout performance. There’s something so glorious about watching a dominant lefty pitch a clean game for your team.
Rafael Devers: Devers’ three-run blast for his second homer of the season was just the swing I’ve been looking for from him at Fenway. While he’s peppered the Monster pretty successfully since the Fenway return, that oppo bomb over everything just hits different.
Triston Casas: Casas has definitely been swinging things better, even if it hasn’t resulted in as many barreled balls as he would like. Those adjustments paid off after a rough couple of weeks to start the season with his single off the wall as he finally came up in a big spot for one of the first times this year.
Three duds
David Hamilton: Hamilton was thrown out at third trying to advance on a grounder hit to the pitcher on the left side of the infield as the winning run in the ninth. So that wasn’t great.
Alex Bregman: After Hamilton was picked off in scoring position, the Sox went on to load the bases. Alex Bregman struck out to end the ninth.
Greg Weissert: Weissert had just made his way back into my good graces and held some sort of trust coming out of the bullpen. But two hits, one walk and three earned runs in an inning of work have ripped both of those things away from him in the meantime. Good stuff from the rest of the bullpen, though, after Crochet’s scoreless six innings of work.
Play of the game
Casas really needed that moment of heroism after the start he’s had. It’s been good to see him finding his swing lately, but even better to see him get the results that he wants out of it.