BOSTON — Instant reactions to the Red Sox (70-59) rallying for three runs in the ninth and walking off the Giants, 3-2, in dramatic fashion after trailing all night:
1) For just the fourth time all season, the Red Sox walked off with a big win. After seven quiet innings from the offense and a huge blown chance in the eighth, Boston came alive in the ninth and flipped a 2-0 deficit into a win with a three-run rally capped off by a Wilyer Abreu fielder’s choice that plated the game-winning run.
With the bases loaded and one out, Abreu chopped a grounder toward first baseman Bryce Eldridge, who threw home for the force — only for catcher Andrew Knizner to come off the plate and allow Eli White to score. As the Red Sox stormed the field to celebrate, a crew chief review was initiated to confirm that White was safe. After a couple minutes, the celebration restarted.
An electric year of 36,478 was louder than it had been all season throughout the game – and rewarded with one of Boston’s most dramatic wins of the season.
2) It was Boston’s first walk-off win since its dramatic 13-inning victory over the White Sox on August 5. The Red Sox are 16-5 in 21 home games since the All-Star break and have the best second-half record in baseball at 24-11.
3) Abreu, the ultimate hero, was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts before stepping to the plate in the ninth. His hard-hit chopper resulted in his second career walk-off — and was preceded by a gritty Red Sox rally.Minutes after squandering a bases-loaded, no-out chance and failing to score in the eighth, the Red Sox immediately made things uncomfortable for a beleaguered San Francisco bullpen. Righty Dylan Smith, after a great escape in the eighth inning, walked Caleb Durbin on four pitches to start the ninth. San Francisco then went to lefty Sam Hentges, so the Red Sox countered with Jahmai Jones.
Hentges hit Jones with the second pitch he threw, setting the table for a rally. With one out, Eli White made it 2-1 with an RBI single that found grass in shallow center. Nick Sogard then tied it with a rocket double off the Green Monster before the Giants intentionally walked Ceddanne Rafaela to load the bases. Abreu — after four strikeouts in his first four plate appearances — worked a 3-2 count before sending the Sox home winners.
4) The Red Sox had just four hits (all singles) until the eighth when they finally put pressure on the Giants, then blew a golden opportunity when Smith came in throwing nothing but high-nineties fastballs and escaped unscatched.
Mickey Gasper (double) and Sogard (four-pitch walk) chased Carson Seymour from the game, then Smith entered and gave up a single to Rafaela. From there, the righty locked in, striking out Abreu (five pitches) and Willson Contreras (three pitches) before getting Adley Rutschman to line out to center on a hard-hit ball to finish a six-pitch at-bat.
It was quite the showing from Smith, who the Giants got in a minor trade with Detroit around Opening Day. His night then ended on a sour note when he walked Durbin in the ninth.
5) An underrated key sequence in the win? A great bases-loaded escape by Wyatt Olds, who kept the deficit at two runs despite some wildness in the top of the ninth. Olds allowed a single and issued two walks as the Giants threatened to extend their lead but got out of it when Eldridge hit a knuckling liner that Sogard caught at second.
Olds, three games into his major league career, got his first MLB win.
6) Red Sox starter Patrick Sandoval looked like he was in for another long night when two Giants hit no-doubt homers off him in the first three innings. The lefty, though, settled in a bit and was able to give the Red Sox 5-⅔ innings while allowing two runs on five hits. It was an improvement after a brutal seven-run, nine-hit showing in Pittsburgh last weekend.
Still, Sandoval left with the Sox trailing. With two outs in the first, Willy Adames crushed a 403-foot blast with an exit velocity of 109.4 mph. Two innings later, Andrew Knizner — who played 21 games for the WooSox this summer before getting a big league opportunity with the Giants — took launch with a 106-mph, 394-foot shot. It was Knizner’s first major league hit this year.
Without a lot of depth available to them, the Red Sox have no choice but to keep going to Sandoval, who has a 4.54 ERA in eight starts. In that vein, Saturday was a step in the right direction for the lefty, who threw a season-high 93 pitches and struck out six.
7) Giants starter Blake Tidwell, in just his fourth big league start of the year, was excellent. He tossed 5-⅔ shutout innings and limited the Sox to three hits while striking out seven batters. It was tied for the longest outing of the 25-year-old’s young career.
Tidwell set the tone by striking out the side in order in the first, then escaped traffic in the next three frames. The Red Sox advanced just one runner into scoring position against him.
8) An updated look at Adley Rutschman’s stats in a Red Sox uniform? After an 0-for-4, he’s 6-for-35 (.171) with 11 strikeouts in 10 games.
9) Rutschman isn’t the only hitter struggling. If it feels like shortstop Andruw Monasterio is coming back to earth fast at the plate, he is. After a prolonged hot streak at the plate, Monasterio entered the game 5-for-30 (.167) and a .412 OPS in his last eight games and had another quiet night, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout. He’s now 7-for-43 (.163) over his last 12 games.
With Trevor Story close to a return, it might be an easier-than-expected decision to move Monasterio out of the starting spot in the coming days.
10) The Red Sox have improved their ABS (automatic ball-strike) system usage throughout the course of the season. But bad decisions played a role Saturday.
Because Rutschman lost a challenge by less than a tenth of an inch on a 3-2 pitch in the third, Abreu was gun-shy when it came to a potential challenge in the third. With two men on and two outs, Tidwell delivered a high fastball that was called strike three by home plate umpire James Hoye. It would have been an easy overturn if Abreu challenged, but he didn’t and the inning ended.
On a night when the Sox didn’t have many opportunities, it stood out.
11) A sign of how the night went for the Sox offensively before the late-inning heroics? Willson Contreras softly lined out to end the sixth inning and broke his bat in the process. In case there was any life left in the lumber, he snapped it over his leg after Christian Koss caught the ball. A Red Sox batboy had to spend a few seconds picking up scattered wood chips next to the foul line between innings.
12)The fans booed Devers even louder than they did Friday throughout the night. It was particularly loud when he stepped to the plate in the first inning and consistent throughout the game on a high-energy night at the ballpark.
Devers had a quiet night as San Francisco’s designated hitter, going 0-for-4 with a walk.
13) Sunday will mark the (delayed) return to the mound for Red Sox rookie Jake Bennett (7-6, 3.46 ERA), who will start after being effectively skipped in the rotation earlier in the week. For workload-related purposes, Boston gave Bennett a breather and eight days of rest after his last start last Friday in Pittsburgh.
The Giants will start recent call-up Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson (0-0, 0.00 ERA), who made his big league debut Wednesday in Cleveland. He went just two innings in that outing so it’ll be a bullpen game for San Francisco.
First pitch is at 3:10 p.m. ET with NBC and Peacock carrying exclusive broadcast rights.
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