Morning Sports Update
Duvall fouled a slider off his foot. On the next pitch, he hit the decisive home run.
The Red Sox rallied to defeat the Astros 7-5 on Wednesday, halting a two-game losing streak.
The two teams play a series finale tonight at 8:10 p.m. ET.
On Friday, the Patriots play the team’s preseason finale against the Titans at 8:15 p.m. ET.
Adam Duvall persevered to get a clutch home run: The Red Sox got a huge win over the Astros in 10 innings on Wednesday. And with losses from Boston’s wild-card rivals, the win allowed the Red Sox to pull within four games of the Mariners for the final playoff spot in the American League.
The deciding factor in the win over Houston came from Adam Duvall, who hit his third home run in as many games. The three-run blast in the top of the 10th off of Houston reliever Kendall Graveman helped his team stay in the postseason chase, but it only came after Duvall endured a painful moment.
One pitch before his home run, Duvall fouled a hard slider off his foot.
“I could barely put any weight on [my foot],” Duvall told reporters, via MLB.com’s Nathan Han. “But I figured he was going to go back in there with it, after me fouling it off.”
The 34-year-old gave some insight into the higher level strategy in a moment like that, recognizing the cat-and-mouse game between pitcher and batter.
“That’s kind of the chess match a little bit,” he explained. “I know how pitchers think: Get a guy to foul it off his foot, they know you’re tender in there. They know you don’t want to swing over another one and do the same thing.”
Despite the pain, Duvall stayed locked in and crushed the next pitch for a home run with potentially bigger implications. Boston kept itself within striking distance of a possible playoff spot.
With one eye firmly fixed on the wild-card standings, Alex Cora was happy to walk away with a win.
“[Tonight’s win] was better than the one on Sunday, to be honest with you,” Cora said. “Especially with knowing everything that happened today. I’m not going to lie, we’re watching, so we gained ground.”
Trivia: Adam Duvall led the National League in RBIs in 2021 with a total of 113. Who was second in the NL that season?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: A 2015 first-round pick by the Braves, he’s been an NL All-Star in both 2022 and 2023.
More from Boston.com:
WooSox win: The Worcester Red Sox rallied for a 5-2 win thanks to three ninth-inning runs. David Hamilton’s RBI triple got things started.
An alternate view of Messi’s game-tying assist: Though he didn’t score for Inter Miami on Wednesday, Lionel Messi’s pair of clutch assists helped tie the game late in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal against FC Cincinnati. Miami eventually won on penalty kicks, but only thanks to this assist (and Leonardo Campana’s finish) deep in stoppage time.
On this day: In 1940, Ted Williams made the only pitching appearance of his career in a 12-1 loss to the Tigers. Williams came in and pitched the eighth and ninth innings, allowing one run and three hits (though he did catch seven-time All-Star Rudy York looking for a strikeout).
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Red Sox fought back to win it 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth. Trailing by a run heading into the final frame, Boston tied it when Lou Finney’s single plated Williams from third base. An Al Benton wild pitch two batters later allowed Bobby Doerr to score the winning run.
Daily highlight: Garrett Whitlock made an unusual sliding catch for a pitcher during the Red Sox win on Wednesday.
Trivia answer: Austin Riley
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