VerduGO! Red Sox walk off, extend WC lead

BOSTON – As Alex Verdugo geared up for what wound up being the most pivotal at-bat of a Saturday thriller at Fenway Park, he could feel his blood boiling a little.

With the winning run on second and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Indians sort of pitched to Rafael Devers, but not really. They walked him on four pitches, and it was obviously by design. They took the same approach with J.D. Martinez, signaling for the intentional walk after falling behind in the count 2-0.

The reason for this was so obvious: Verdugo had a .525 OPS against lefties this season as he stepped to the plate against Indians southpaw Alex Young.

After feebly rolling over the first pitch and tapping it just foul down the first-base line, Verdugo gathered himself. He got a 1-2 cutter he liked and hammered it over the head of right fielder Daniel Johnson for a walk-off single that set off a mob scene between first and second, where Verdugo’s teammates celebrated the big hit that set up a 4-3 Red Sox victory over the Indians.

“Yeah, I think we’re all competitors,” Verdugo said. “We all have stuff that makes us tick, or gets us extra locked in or fired up. That was one of them. You don’t ever want to be the guy that they load the bases for or intentionally walk someone to get to you. I took it personal. It helped me lock in a little extra, and I wanted to get it done that much more.”

It was certainly a sweet win for the Red Sox, who quickly offset the disappointment of Adam Ottavino surrendering a 3-0 lead in the top of the ninth, capped by a pinch-hit, game-tying homer that came when Boston was one strike away from victory.

Last month, when things weren’t going well for the Red Sox, that adverse situation in the top of the ninth might have forced them to drop their heads.

But the vibe has changed in September. The Red Sox (79-59) have won four in a row, prospering these last four days despite an outbreak that currently has nine players on the COVID-19-related injured list.

The win pushed Boston to just a half-game back of New York (78-57) for the first AL Wild Card spot and four games ahead of Oakland (74-62) for the second spot.

Without key position players like Xander Bogaerts, Kiké Hernández and high-leverage relievers Matt Barnes, Hirokazu Sawamura and Josh Taylor, manager Alex Cora’s team is combining sound execution with grit, strong starting pitching and clutch relief.

“We’re playing a different brand of baseball, which is great. I don’t mind it. We’re bunting, we’re taking pitches, we’re keeping the line moving,” said Cora. “We’re doing everything to maximize our lineup. It’s not about names. It’s about a team, right?”

Trade acquisition Kyle Schwarber has led the recent charge with one quality at-bat after another.

With the game scoreless with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Schwarber -- an on-base machine -- worked a walk then passed the baton to Rafael Devers.

Devers, known for his free-swinging approach, had three good takes to work the count full with two runners on in the bottom of the seventh inning. On the 3-2 pitch, Devers was ready to grip and rip when Indians reliever Blake Parker got too much of the plate.

His three-run shot snapped a scoreless tie and set off the type of deafening roar at Fenway Park that could probably be felt all around Lansdowne Street, Kenmore Square and Jersey Street.

For Devers, it was homer No. 33, and he reached 100 RBIs when he crossed home plate. Is it possible Schwarber is rubbing off on Devers?

“Yeah, he’s been a huge help from the moment he got here. We’re learning a lot from him, and just having him batting in front of me, I just try to just see the way they’re pitching him because they’re probably going to pitch me pretty similar as well,” Devers said. “Just trying to get good at-bats and do what I can when I’m at the plate, but he’s been a huge help for this team overall.”

Tanner Houck put the offense in position to take the lead by firing five shutout innings. Throwing just 68 pitches, Houck allowed three hits, walked none and struck out seven.

Hansel Robles got Austin Davis out of trouble in the seventh. Philips Valdez, thrust into a bigger role in the short-handed bullpen, threw two perfect innings. And even when it didn’t work out for Ottavino, the offense got him off the hook.

“I think the big thing is everybody is kind of relying on each other,” said Verdugo. “Our starting pitchers, they know that our bullpen is short so they stepped up and they’ve been dealing. The guys that we have in our bullpen are huge, doing their jobs, and I just think it trickles down from everywhere.

“Beginning of the year, we were really good at ... if we fell, or we gave up the lead, we didn’t care. We knew that at some point, seventh, eighth, ninth inning, we’re going to come back. Our guys are going to be back at the plate and they’ve got to get us out too, and it’s starting to feel that way again.”