Chang's breakout game powers Red Sox to win

BOSTON -- A zany Saturday at Fenway that included three catcher’s interference calls -- two of them in one inning by the Angels -- might wind up being remembered by Red Sox Nation as the Yu Chang game.

Behind an out-of-nowhere performance (2-for-4, a homer and four RBIs), Chang fueled Boston to a 9-7 victory over the Angels.

This was the day the 27-year-old utility infielder from Taiwan demonstrated some of the prowess Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and other members of the brass envisioned when they claimed him off waivers from the Rays on Sept. 12 and signed him to a Major League deal with Spring Training already in progress on Feb. 16.

When Chang came to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning on Saturday, he was in an 0-for-28 rut that dated back to Sept. 22, 2022.

With one powerful cut, Chang reversed his fortunes with a two-run rocket that hit a sign behind the Monster seats. He gave the Red Sox a 5-4 lead in a game they trailed, 4-0, on a Gio Urshela grand slam in the top of the first.

Chang practically felt weight coming off of him as he rounded the bases, the Fenway crowd of 36,594 roaring with approval.

The loss of Adam Duvall to a broken left wrist, combined with the Red Sox facing a seemingly endless stretch of lefties this week, has led manager Alex Cora to move Kiké Hernández back to center field with Chang playing short.

“I’m so happy that the team gave me the opportunity to play every day,” said Chang through interpreter Patrick Chu. “I didn’t do well in the beginning, but today, I just got the chance, and with that homer, I was so happy.”

But the story of this day was far from over after Chang’s Monster mash.

In the top of the eighth, Taylor Ward hammered a 106.5 mph line drive that looked like a sure hit, only for Chang to make a spectacular leaping grab at shortstop.

“That jump catch was important to the team,” said Chang. “And the coaches asked me to shift a little bit before the pitch and I did it and it just came to my spot and I got it.”

Then came the bottom of the eighth, the final momentum swing of a wild afternoon and early evening at Fenway. The inning started with the Angels in front, 7-6.

Hernández led off the frame with a single to left, creating hope of another comeback. But when Raimel Tapia smashed one deep to left and Ward flagged it down in front of the Monster, it was setting up some possible deflation.

But catcher’s interference was called on Matt Thaiss and Tapia was awarded first base.

“What I can say is, if I didn’t hit the catcher’s mitt, that ball would have made a hole in the Green Monster. I hit that ball really well,” said Tapia.

Following a strikeout by Triston Casas, the unthinkable happened. Reese McGuire fouled off a 1-0 pitch and Thaiss was again called for catcher’s interference. Two in one inning?

“Yeah it’s rare for sure,” said McGuire, a catcher himself. “He was obviously too close and it doesn't happen that much, but it also happens when the hitter is seeing the ball deeper and trying to go the other way.”

The bases now loaded with one out, Chang put a capper on his memorable day by rifling a two-run single through the hole at shortstop to put Boston up for good.

The last time Chang enjoyed playing baseball as much as he did on Saturday was last month at the World Baseball Classic, when he was named the Pool A MVP for Chinese Taipei.

“The way he’s hitting the ball in batting practice is hard and on a line. It was a matter of gaining confidence,” said Cora. “He made a comment about how comfortable he was over there playing, and when he comes here, it’s a little bit harder. We understand that. We’ve been talking about Pool A MVP, but it’s like, ‘Just go play, just be you.’”

“Everybody has big expectations for me,” Chang said. “They want me to copy the WBC performance here [in MLB], so I’m excited that I played well tonight and I’ll do my best to help the team win games.”

At least on Saturday, Chang couldn’t have done much more to aid his team’s cause.