After a disappointing 2-5 road trip against the Toronto Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates, the Boston Red Sox returned home looking to turn things around against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
After going on winning streaks of 15 and nine games over the last couple of months, Boston was bound to hit a bump in the road. Playing an Arizona team in the thick of the National League wild-card race was going to be a good test. After winning the opening game, 11-1, the Red Sox hit a bump in the road in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
How was Chad Tracy’s team going to respond? As good teams do, after getting punched in the mouth, they punched right back.
Boston Red Sox Interim Manager Chad Tracy Sees Team “Punch Back” To Rally vs. Arizona
After grabbing three runs in the bottom of the first inning for Ranger Suárez, things suddenly changed in the top of the third. After getting the first two outs quickly, things took a quick turn for the Red Sox.
Ryan Waldschmidt and Ildemaro Vargas had back-to-back singles. Suárez then hit Corbin Carroll with a pitch to load the bases. After falling behind Gabriel Moreno, 2-0 in the count, Arizona’s DH launched a grand slam into the monster seats for a 4-3 lead.
However, the Red Sox responded in the home half. Adley Rutschman hit a solo home run on an 0-2 count to tie the game. Boston took the lead for good later in the inning on their way to a 9-4 win. They scored the final six runs. Earlier this season, a game like this would have got away from the Red Sox. Not in August.
“All the momentum on our side, and then they have two outs, nobody on,” said Tracy, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. “And then that happens. To come back and punch back like you said was important, and then we continued on from there.”
The early-season Red Sox would have let things spiral out of control the other way. Instead, they continued to add on with runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings for the five-run win. Maybe the most promising aspect of the win was Rutschman finally hitting a home run in Boston after struggling following the trade and coming off the injured list. He entered the series 1-for-17 in his first five games with the Red Sox.
Boston Red Sox Go for Sweep of Diamondbacks on Wednesday
Tracy will send left-hander Payton Tolle to the mound on Wednesday afternoon, looking to complete a sweep of Arizona. The 23-year-old former TCU standout is 8-6 with a 2.97 ERA. The Diamondbacks will counter with Brandon Pfaadt, who is 7-1 with a 3.11 ERA. In three starts in August and over 20.2 innings, Pfaadt hasn’t allowed an earned run.
After a day off on Thursday, Boston will open a three-game series at Fenway Park against the San Francisco Giants. It’ll mark the return of Rafael Devers and possibly Marcelo Mayer for the weekend series.
After that series, Boston heads out on the road to play the Miami Marlins and New York Yankees.
Red Sox Interim Manager Chad Tracy Drops Honest Quote After Win Over Diamondbacks