dpThen came the part that Nick Sogard called “weird,” Jahmai Jones described as “hilarious,” and Abreu deemed “crazy”: a replay review by the umpires of the final play, just to make sure.
For 2 minutes and 18 seconds, after the Red Sox already had mobbed Abreu and ripped off his jersey, both teams stood around on the field waiting for the verdict.
Maybe Knizner actually had stayed on the plate? And the game would have to keep going, with two outs, bases loaded, and Willson Contreras due up?
“You’re hoping [the call] stands,” interim manager Chad Tracy said, “because we have people on the field without their shirt on.”
“You’re looking up, everybody on the field is just dead quiet, like you’re waiting on a class presentation,” Jones said. “OK, here we go.”
“All the emotion and all that stuff,” Abreu said. “All the emotion and all that stuff. They ripped my jersey, so if they overturned the play, I’d probably have to come back to the locker to grab another one.”
The Sox milled about on the right side of the infield. Contreras tossed Abreu’s jersey, in a heap, back onto Abreu’s shoulder.
White thought he knew what he saw in the moment — diving headfirst, helmet tilted over his eyes — but as he watched the slow-motion replays on the center-field video board, along with the sellout crowd of 36,478, he began to wonder.
“When I was sliding in, I didn’t think his foot was anywhere near the plate,” White said. “But on the video, it looked way closer than what I remember seeing. So I was a little nervous.”
Plate umpire James Hoye, who as crew chief agreed to the game-deciding review when Giants manager Tony Vitello asked for it, announced that the call stood.
The Sox mobbed Abreu again, collected their sixth win in nine games, and improved to 70-59.
The last-chance drama erased what had been an evening of offensive misery for the Sox, who were on the brink of being shut out for the first time in nearly a month.
In the eighth inning, they loaded the bases with no outs but failed to score. Rookie righthander Dylan Smith struck out Abreu, struck out Contreras, and induced a deep fly out from Adley Rutschman.
Vitello, in his first year with the Giants after jumping from the college coaching ranks, may have aided the Sox’ comeback by disregarding what many managers view as a key, feel-based managerial decision: When a reliever escapes a jam like Smith just did — with all the tension and adrenaline that comes with it — don’t put him back on the mound for the next inning. It’s too difficult to try to rev up again.
When Smith started the ninth, he walked Caleb Durbin on four pitches, none close.
“Once you get that first guy on,” Tracy said, “you’re right back to feeling exactly how you did before.”
Fenway came alive with anticipation. The Red Sox knew they had a chance. Lefthander Sam Hentges replaced Smith, then hit Jones — pinch hitting for Jarren Duran — with a pitch. Jones pumped his fists on the way to first base, representing the potential tying run.
Andruw Monasterio’s grounder to second yielded only a force out at second. White, pinch hitting for Mickey Gasper, sneaked a single up the middle for the first run.
Sogard’s full-count double — lined hard off the Green Monster — tied it.
“I’ve had a few at-bats late in the game when the crowd’s going like that, and that’s probably the biggest hit I’ve had in one of those moments,” said Sogard, who went 2 for 3 with a walk and a diving catch of a bases-loaded line drive in the top of the ninth to keep the deficit at two. “So that was cool for sure.”
The Giants (52-77) intentionally walked Ceddanne Rafaela to load the bases for Abreu, who had struck out in each of his first four plate appearances.
Not this time, though.
“Just try to relax,” Abreu said. “Forget about what happened. Forget about all the strikeouts. Just try to put the ball in play.”
And so he did, rendering everything else a footnote.
Lefthander Patrick Sandoval (5⅔ innings, two runs) gave up solo homers to Willy Adames and Knizner. Giants rookie Blade Tidwell held the Sox to three singles in 5⅔ innings. San Francisco went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. The Red Sox’ bullpen B-squad — Greg Weissert, Jovani Morán, Wyatt Olds (first major league win) — evaded trouble to keep it close.
“We might lose,” Tracy said. “But you’re going to get our best all the way down to the last strike, the last pitch. And they’ve been doing that for a while.”
Tim Healey can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @timbhealey.
