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‘I took it personal’: Alex Verdugo explained why the Indians walking J.D. Martinez inspired his clutch hit
He said it gave him some "extra fire."
When the Cleveland Indians intentionally walked J.D. Martinez to load the bases in the bottom of the ninth Saturday, Alex Verdugo said it gave him some “extra fire.”
Moments later, with two strikes and two outs, Verdugo laced a single to deep right that plated pinch-runner Taylor Motter and lifted the Red Sox to a 4-3 win at Fenway Park.
“I took it personal,” Verdugo said. “That’s the biggest thing.”
According to RotoWire, the lefty Verdugo is hitting .328 against righties and .208 against lefties. With southpaw Alex Young on the mound, Red Sox manager Alex Cora took his chances and trusted Verdugo to deliver.
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“You don’t ever want to be the guy they load the bases for,” Verdugo said.
Verdugo told NESN’s Jahmai Webster that he was aware his numbers against lefties haven’t been there this season. He said he tried to do too much on the first two pitches, so he made an effort to relax and lock in with the game on the line.
As he shared his approach with Webster, Christian Vázquez came over and doused him in Gatorade, and Verdugo seemed to put all his worries behind him.
Despite their recent COVID-19 outbreak, the Red Sox have still managed to win four straight and nine of 13. They squandered a 3-0 lead in the ninth Saturday, but Travis Shaw singled, Rafael Devers walked, and Verdugo delivered after the Indians put Martinez on first.
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“We know that we have a lot of our key players out, key bullpen pieces, but just go out here, fight and compete, play good baseball, and good things happen,” Verdugo said.
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