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On a night described as a ‘gut punch,’ resilient Red Sox keep on fighting
"It's meaningful games in September, and all that matters is winning.”
Alex Bregman’s summary of Tuesday’s matchup against the Cleveland Guardians stood in stark contrast to the frenzied cheers emanating from a raucous Fenway Park crowd.
“Today was a bit of a gut punch for us,” the veteran third baseman noted.
It’s hard to push back against Bregman’s declaration, even if the scoreboard on the Green Monster showed an 11-7 Red Sox victory.
Boston’s 10th win in its last 13 contests came at a cost.
The Red Sox’s rookie phenom Roman Anthony could be staring at a stint on the injured list — with the spark plug atop Boston’s lineup snuffed out after suffering an oblique injury in the bottom of the fourth inning.
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Another foundation of Boston’s success this summer in ace Garrett Crochet also eroded at the worst possible time.
After allowing just two hits and one run through the first five innings of work, the poised lefty imploded in the sixth — relinquishing three home runs and a whopping six runs in the inning as Boston squandered a 5-1 lead.
Crochet’s disastrous outing — compounded with Anthony’s injury — likely would have sapped any semblance of momentum from the Red Sox during the early days of the 2025 campaign.
But, as Crochet noted postgame, those early struggles have seemingly steeled this roster now that the stakes have been raised and the chill of fall begins creeping into the forecast.
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“April was tough,” Crochet said. “We took our lumps there in terms of one-run ball games, but ultimately, I think that it was for a reason that led us to this point.
“We’re finding different ways to scrap it out because we have so much experience in those tight-knit situations as a team. And I think that right now, everyone’s picking each other up, and we’re finding some way to get out of that hole.”
For all of the setbacks that played out for Alex Cora’s club on Tuesday, it didn’t take long for the Red Sox to punch back against Cleveland — scoring six unanswered runs over the final four innings en route to the comeback win.
“The big boy has picked us up the whole season, and we picked him up today. That’s what winning teams do,” Cora said of Crochet.
It didn’t take long for the Red Sox to re-assert themselves after Crochet’s meltdown inning.
After Masataka Yoshida doubled in the bottom of the sixth, Ceddanne Rafaela clubbed his first Fenway homer since July 13, golfing a belt-high slider from Slade Cecconi over the Monster to knot the score up at 7-7.
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Rafaela, who also hit a two-run single in the second inning, posted his sixth career game with four or more RBI.
“You look up and it feels like we’re down by five, six [runs]. And it’s only a 2-0 game,” Cora said of the sixth inning. “We’re one swing — a bloop and a blast, you know? And that’s what happened, right? Masa had a great day, Ceddanne put a good swing.”
Several players pulled on the rope to put Boston ahead for good in the eighth inning, with the Red Sox pushing across four runs with two outs in the frame.
With Rafaela on third and Nate Eaton on first, Alex Bregman legged out an infield single off a ball hit to Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez, giving the Red Sox a lead they would not relinquish.
Jarren Duran and Trevor Story secured some breathing room, with Duran lacing an RBI double into right field to make it a 9-7 game before Story drove in Bregman and Duran with an opposite-field double.
“We’re a tight-knit crew,” Story said postgame. “I think that’s the first thing that comes to mind — is we have each other’s back, and we’re well-prepared. And I think we know how good we can be. And I think it’s as simple as that. We’re just really good friends, and we love playing baseball, and I think that goes a long way.”
Boston had multiple other contributors on Tuesday. Yoshida matched a season-high with three hits and two doubles, while first baseman Nathaniel Lowe clubbed a double and solo shot in the win.
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Eaton, who replaced Anthony in right field, also went 2-for-2 at the top of the order.
The Red Sox still have to contend with Anthony’s potential absence moving forward — a critical blow for a team that has gone 46-27 since he was called up to the big leagues.
But, if the Red Sox want to extend their 2025 season deep into October, Bregman acknowledged that Boston will have to deal with adversity and setbacks.
“We’re kind of in that September mode right now of where — it’s next pitch, next pitch, next pitch. … Obviously losing Roman today is a gut punch,” Bregman said. “Obviously one of the best players in all of baseball. But we got to continue to push along. And nobody needs to try and do more.
“No one needs to try and do more than they’re capable of. They just need to try and execute their game plan the same way that we’ve been talking about all year long, and continue to find ways to win, whether it’s high-scoring games, pitching and playing good defense, stealing a big base, moving a guy over. … It’s meaningful games in September, and all that matters is winning.”
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