Carlos Narváez gets redemption and Red Sox finally win an extra-innings game on the road
The Red Sox were able to salvage the final game of their three-game set against the Phillies in Philadelphia, thanks to some extra-inning heroics from Carlos Narváez. It was a bit of redemption for the Boston backstop as he launched a two-run homer in the top of the 11th to lift the Red Sox a 9-8 win, the team's first extra-innings road victory of the season.
Boston was 0-7 in extra-inning tilts on the road going into Wednesday night. And while they went just 2-4 on their post All-Star break road trip, Wednesday night was an uplifting win overall after the Red Sox trailed 5-0 entering the fifth inning.
Redemption for Carlos Narváez
Narváez wasn't having a very sunny time in Philadelphia this week until the series finale. He was hit with two different catcher's interference calls in Monday's and Tuesday's losses. Monday's infraction let the Phillies walk off with a win, and Tuesday's allowed Bryce Harper to score in the bottom of the first inning.
But Narváez is feeling a lot better about himself after he launched a two-run homer off Philadelphia reliever Seth Johnson in the top of the 11th. He had to momentarily wait to completely celebrate the blast, as it barely made it over the left field fence at Citizen Bank Park and was put under review for fan interference.
Video reviews weren't kind to Narváez in the first two games, as he had to wait for both of his interference calls to be confirmed. But he felt instant relief when his ninth homer of the year was quickly confirmed, and the Red Sox held a 9-7 lead in the 11th.
Reliever Jorge Alcala got the first two outs for Boston in the bottom of the 11th, but gave up an RBI single to Johan Rojas to make it a 9-8 game. Brennan Bernardino came on to strike out Max Kepler to record the first Major League save of his career.
Boston's six-run fifth inning
Extra innings never would have happened without a huge fifth-inning from Boston. The Red Sox were in a 5-0 hole after starter Lucas Giolito surrendered a career-high four homers over the first four innings, but then took advantage of a huge break.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Rob Refsnyder fouled a 2-0 pitch back behind the plate. It should have gotten Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo out of the jam, but neither he nor catcher J.T. Realmuto found the ball in the air and it fell to the ground in foul territory.
It was the big break the Red Sox needed, and they took full advantage of it to spark a game-changing rally. Two pitches later, Refsnyder walked to plate Boston's first run. Jarren Duran followed with a four-pitch walk to make it a 5-2 game, which is when Romy Gonzalez stepped to the plate for a big swing of his own.
Gonzalez was stuck in an 0-for-20 slump, but he mauled a Luzardo changeup and crushed it 415-feet for a go-ahead grand slam. It was the first-ever salami for Gonzalez.
That's baseball for you. After burning themselves with a pair of rare interference calls in the first two games of the series, it was a missed pop-up that changed the finale for the Red Sox. A lot of strange things happen over a 162-game season.
Boston held on to its 6-5 edge until the bottom of the eighth when Realmuto took Aroldis Chapman (who recorded the final out in the seventh) deep to knot things at 6-6. The Red Sox actually scored in the top of the 10th on an RBI double by Trevor Story, but Kyle Schwarber hit his second dinger of the night in the bottom of the frame to send it to the 11th.
Wednesday's roller coaster win was much-needed for the Red Sox, who will get a day off Thursday before returning home for a three-game set against Mookie Betts and the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers. At 55-49, the Red Sox are tied with the Seattle Mariners (54-48 for an identical .529 win percentage) for the second AL Wild Card spot.
