‘I live for that moment’: Alex Verdugo discussed why he enjoys hitting in pressure situations

Verdugo already has three walk-off hits in 2023.

Alex Verdugo celebrates his walk-off home run for the Red Sox against the Blue Jays on May 1. AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

May 2, 2023

3 minutes to read

The Celtics lost to the 76ers 119-115 in Monday’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Game 2 gets underway at TD Garden on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

Elsewhere, the Red Sox defeated the Blue Jays 6-5 on yet another Alex Verdugo walk-off (a home run he hit over the Fenway Park bullpen wall).

Alex Verdugo on his latest walk-off: Following his third walk-off hit of the season on Monday, Verdugo discussed his mindset heading into the bottom of the ninth at-bat.

“I knew I was going to hit in the ninth and I was like, ‘I want to end this,’” Verdugo said after the game. “But, you know, that was all in the outfield, when I’m out there just talking to myself.

“Then I got up to the plate and told myself I just needed to take that first pitch to just get into that at-bat. I could have gotten in there and automatically swung and rolled over to first [base]. So I was like, ‘Man, I want to see what his heater looks like — how it’s coming out of his hand.’ And I’m glad that I did.”

Verdugo waited until Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano put a 1-1 fastball right down the middle. He promptly crushed it for the game-winner:

THE GAME IS OVER WHEN DUGIE SAYS IT'S OVER. pic.twitter.com/0Sv7XreNnx
— Red Sox (@RedSox) May 2, 2023

Now with eight career walk-off hits, the Red Sox outfielder clearly has a knack for clutch hits.

“I live for it,” Verdugo said when asked about his ability to come up with big hits.
“I live for that moment. I’m blessed with that opportunity to do it. You don’t go up there thinking about failure. You go up there and think, ‘I have a chance to help the team win a ballgame.’ And I thrive for that moment.”

The Red Sox win against the Blue Jays in the two teams’ first 2023 matchup might not seem significant so early in the season, but considering Boston was 3-16 against Toronto in 2022, Verdugo understands the importance.

“Obviously, it feels good to win this one,” he explained. “Last year, they had our number. I think it’s one of those things, man, we want to play competitive games against these guys. Last year, there were a lot of blowouts, a lot of uncompetitive games.

“For us, it’s just that constant grind,” he added. “I think our hitters are doing a good job from leadoff to the nine-hole, putting good at-bats on people. I think we’re in a [much] better space than we were last year.”

The Red Sox are now 16-14, and face the Blue Jays again this evening at 7:10 p.m.

Trivia: According to Elias Sports Bureau, Alex Verdugo is the third MLB player since 1920 to record three walk-off hits in a team’s first 30 games of a season. Can you name the other two?

(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: One of them, a Curacao native, did it for the Braves in 1999. The other did it for the Giants in 1973 (and his son was a pretty good baseball player too).

More from Boston.com:

Enmanuel Valdez’s first career home run: The 24-year-old rookie was just a little bit excited about it.

Enmanuel's 1st MLB homer was absolutely electric. pic.twitter.com/y7rtHfWcry
— Red Sox (@RedSox) May 2, 2023

On this day: In 2017, Isaiah Thomas dropped 53 in a 129-119 Celtics win over the Wizards to help Boston take a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Daily highlight: Kiké Hernández has struggled at times playing shortstop in 2023, but he found a way to not only field the ball on Danny Jansen’s line drive, but then make the throw to first base to get the out.