Mookie Betts saves Red Sox with gold glove and foul ball

Mookie robs Reddick

First Mookie Betts single-handedly kept the Red Sox alive in Game Three of the ALDS yesterday at Fenway Park with his glove, and then he unknowingly -- except for a few of us in Section 15 -- sparked an offensive explosion that propelled Boston to a 10-3 victory over the Astros and a chance to square their best-of-five series today.

Fans were still streaming into Fenway for what could be Boston's season finale when Houston took a 3-0 lead in the first inning against Sox starter Doug Fister. After the Astros got two men on in the second, chasing Fister, Josh Reddick hit a sharp fly off Joe Kelly towards the right-field corner. Betts sprinted after it with his usual graceful strides, and just as the ball appeared headed for the first or second row, he reached out and grabbed it with a basket catch reminiscent of Dwight Evans' robbery of Joe Morgan at nearly the same spot in Game Six of the 1975 World Series.

Hanley did his part - 4-for-4 with 3 RBI

The play ended the inning; rather than being down 6-0, the Sox were still in striking range. They got one run back in the second, and then in the third Mookie was at it again -- sprinting with his back to the plate and snaring an Alex Bregman smash over his shoulder just in front of the warning track (ending the inning and another Houston scoring threat).

 As Betts jogged in after this latest catch, Boston fans offered the reigning Gold Glover a huge ovation. Rachel and I, who had scored terrific seats in the first few rows of the lower grandstand behind the Red Sox dugout, high-fived our neighbor (and new Fenway friend) Nancy (not to be confused with our longtime friends Nancy and Nancy, aka "The Women of Section 30"). 

Betts nabs another

I was about to get much better acquainted with this new Nancy. In the bottom of the fourth, Betts hit a high foul ball toward our section. It looked at first to be off to our left, but then at the last moment it curved and slammed down directly into the empty seat between me and Nancy (who had nicely moved one over from her "real" seat earlier to give me extra legroom). The ball rolled under the seat, and as I reached down to grab it, Nancy's hand sneaked in at the last moment to nab the prize fair and square.

Rachel was momentarily disappointed, until I explained that the only way I could have grabbed the ball on the fly would be to have flung my beloved scorebook one way and shove Nancy the other. Plus, I said as I pointed to the band around Nancy's left hand, she appeared to have a wrist injury that I didn't want to harm further in our beneath-the-seat scramble.

Rachel forgives Dad

"I understand, Dad," Rachel said, in that 13-year-old way that you know is masking disappointment with a budding maturity so as to not wound her father's bruised ego. "We'll get another one."

Betts struck out on the next pitch, after which came a moment both comical and magical. I learned that Nancy wasn't injured at all -- what I thought was a brace of some sort was actually, she explained with a laugh, a wrist purse in which she was keeping her keys. She also told me she was especially excited about the ball because of a near miss years before. While at a game with her son in these same seats, she had a foul ball land directly in her beer, knock it from her hand, and then roll four rows away and out of her life. This was her payback.

It was also the spark to a Sox rally. The next four batters after Betts hit safely, highlighted by a two-run homer from rookie Rafael Devers that gave Boston a 4-3 lead. Nancy showed off her ball to folks around us, and then tucked in between her legs for safekeeping. Perhaps, I wondered, my near-treasure was meant to be hers -- and meant to be a talisman.

The Price was right for four shutout innings.

The redemptive David Price kept the Astros at bay over the next four innings, but Boston could not add to its one-run lead. A tenseness hung over Fenway, which in our row nearly became a panic after Nancy left to make a concessions run. Her husband Glenn suddenly jumped up, wild-eyed, and began running up and down the aisle peering into each of the five rows ahead of us.

"What's wrong, did you lose your keys?" I asked.

"No!" he yelled. "I lost the ball!"

Thankfully the beer-soaked sphere was retrieved, dried, and placed snugly into a cup holder by the time Nancy got back.

Safe and sound

When she heard about the near calamity she gave Curly a stern but loving look, happy that The Baseball Gods had saved her keepsake. Soon thereafter, the Red Sox batted around in a six-run seventh that put the game out of reach. Betts singled and scored during the outburst, and then added a few more web gems for good measure -- giving him seven putouts overall and the home team a newfound momentum going into Game Four.

Nancy, Glenn, the ball, and the wrist purse.

Rachel and I exited Fenway on high adrenaline, our perfect day at the ballpark completed, when suddenly a shock came over me not unlike that which had befallen Nancy's husband a few hours before. My keys -- including the pricey remote entry fobs for BOTH our family cars -- were gone. My TILE app (thanks for the Father's Day gift, Michelle) alerted me that they were "in Fenway Park," but we couldn't find them despite a law-breaking sprint back into the park and to our seats.

I would have to wait until Monday morning to call Fenway's Lost and Found, but at least -- thanks to Mookie -- Jason and I would be doing so on a game day.

John Farrell reveals secret to Red Sox surge: Bill Belichick

"Warm up Koji in the seventh."

A month ago columnists, talk-show hosts and fans were calling for his head. Now John Farrell looks like a genius and the Red Sox are the hottest team in baseball -- winning the close games they couldn't earlier in the year due (said the naysayers) to his weak in-game managing.

Asked after last night's eighth straight win to explain the turnaround, Farrell dropped a bombshell:  Bill Belichick has been making Boston's strategic moves before, after, and even during games. Phone calls in dugouts, clubhouses, and hotel rooms have kept the two in touch and moved the Red Sox to the verge of the postseason.

It was the Patriots coach, Farrell says, who made the decision to immediately put Koji Uehara into the eighth-inning role -- where he has thrived -- after he came off the disabled list.

Shaw got mad -- and hot -- thanks to Belichick.

To start over-his-head rookie Yoan Mancada over Travis Shaw at third base for a few games, lighting a fire under Shaw -- and a resurgence at the plate.

To stay behind slumping Clay Buchholz, trying him in various spots and keeping his confidence up, so he'd be ready to move back into the starting rotation when needed .

To rest David Ortiz just the right amount so that his feet would hold up and he'd put up the best farewell numbers in MLB history.

A rested Ortiz continues to rake.

To convince Hanley Ramirez to cut down on his home-run swing -- thus leading to more home runs and fewer helmet-flying strikeouts.

To move Dustin Pedroia into the lead-off spot, against the second baseman's wishes, sparking a Laser Show batting spree reminiscent of 2008.

"It's particularly tough when we have games at the same time, like last night, but Bill is such a mastermind that he can make out our lineup at the same time he's going over plays with a rookie quarterback making his first start," says Farrell. "I mean, the guy is a genius."

I wish Bill would call.

Farrell says he decided to come clean about the arrangement because he wanted the world to know just how brilliant a tactician Belichick is -- even if it costs him his job.

"I've been around baseball for 40 years," he says, "but Bill is in a league all by himself."

Make that two leagues.

Friday Fun from Fenway Reflections

Hanley Ramirez aims to bring second World Series to Red Sox (Nope, that's not a misprint)

Brothers in Arms: More celebrating to come?

David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia may be the only everyday players on the Red Sox who also played for Boston's 2007 World Series champions, but there is another guy in the lineup whose performance was a major factor in that title.

No use scouring the '07 lineup on baseballreference,com, you won't find him there.

American League Co-Player of the Week Hanley Ramirez has emerged as the hottest hitter in baseball, with 4 home runs and 9 RBI during a four-game sweep of the Yankees at Fenway this past weekend and 12 homers overall in his last 21 contests. Ramirez is finally fulfilling the expectations that former GM Ben Cherington was hoping for when he signed the free agent in the winter of 2014-15, and his surge has helped Boston to a 3.5-game lead over the second-place Orioles in the tight AL East race entering tonight's showdown in Baltimore,

If Ramirez is able to keep it up, and the Red Sox reach the postseason, it will be the second time he's paid big dividends on Yawkey Way. Back in 2005, after an excellent season in Class AA Portland, he was the key to a trade with the Florida Marlins that brought big right-handed pitcher Josh Beckett and third baseman Mike Lowell to Boston.

Beckett took a season to acclimate to the American League, but in 2007 he was 20-7 and the ace of a World Series championship Red Sox staff. Lowell, considered a throw-in from Florida in the original trade, was a quiet leader on and off the field whose unexpected offensive resurgence (.324 with 121 RBI) was also central to the '07 title. In fact, Lowell was MVP of that October's World Series, to which Beckett contributed a Game 1 victory.

Lowell delivered in '07 -- now it's Hanley's turn.

So while Cherington may have been forced to resign last summer after the poor performance of Ramirez (a .249 average and brutal defense in left field) and fellow free agent washout Pablo Sandoval, the signing isn't looking quite so bad now, In fact, Ramirez's booming bat and solid work at a new position of first base has been one of this season's greatest surprises.

If Hanley can keep it up for another month, there will be a lot more to celebrate than just a sweep of the Yankees.

Just how long was last Sunday's Red Sox-Astros game? It was so long that...

Hanley gets a hand -- from those still on hand.

The end result of Sunday afternoon's 5-4 comeback win by the Red Sox over Houston was ideal for Boston fans, but for a long time it didn't feel like those of us at Fenway Park were ever going to get to the end.

Although the game went the standard nine innings, it took a toll on fans who gutted it out to see Hanley Ramirez's one-armed homer in the seventh and Koji Uehara's final two strikeouts to end matters.

Get excited folks, it's a one-run game!

The clock in right field read just past 5:35 pm as Uehara pumped his fist after the final out, marking the official time of the contest as 4:01 -- a far cry from the sub-three-hour games Boston and other MLB teams have been turning in this season. 

There were 167 pitches thrown by Houston hurlers, 174 by Red Sox pitchers, and plenty of good quips in section 30 as the hours turned into more hours.

So just how long was Sunday's game? It was so long that....

The eighth inning ended with D'Angelo Ortiz on deck.

Shane Victorino went back on the 15-day DL, came back, and went on it again.

I needed to eat breakfast. (Jason)

My wife and kids just left me. (guy in the next row back)

They had to mow the lawn again.

I had to shave my legs again. (pretty lady in shorts who would not give her name)

Starter Eddie Rodriguez (101 pitches) was rested and warming up, ready to come in again if needed in extra innings.

Thousands of fans left to catch the last T before the trains stopped running.

My stepmom Judy actually began to understand the game

Nine-year-old Karl, who caught a David Ortiz foul ball in the first inning, had headed back to Virginia for high school by the time Ortiz fouled off eight pitches in the eighth.

Who in the world is Alejandro De Aza, and what's he doing saving the Red Sox season?

Hand it to Ben: De Aza is a find.

Fans shrugged their shoulders and scratched their heads when the Red Sox responded to their worst start in a half-century by trading for a .214-hitting outfielder on June 3, but nobody is questioning the pickup of Alejandro De Aza for minor league pitcher Joe Gunkel now.

The failure of Rusney Castillo in his first extended MLB trial and an injury to Hanley Ramirez opened up left- and right-field spots for De Aza in the starting lineup, and the 31-year-old Orioles castaway has become one of the hottest hitters in baseball. 

In 23 games with Boston, during which the Sox offense has sprung to life, De Aza is batting .338 with a 1.034 OPS. On the recently completed roadtrip to Florida and Toronto, he went an insane 12-for-26 with 12 runs scored, 3 triples, 2 homers, and 8 RBI.

Boston was 24-30 when De Aza was acquired, and has gone 13-10 with him in the lineup. There is no denying he has provided a spark.

Thursday's 12-6 victory over Toronto, which gave the Red Sox a season-reviving 5-2 record on the trip, marked another big night for De Aza -- 4 RBI on a single, double, and triple while bating eighth. Throw in great defense and experience at all three outfield spots, and you have a guy who it will be tough to remove from the lineup even if Shane Victorino is about to come off the disabled list and Ramirez is healthy.

Should Victorino start over De Aza? 

De Aza has been a solid player for the last five-plus years, producing a  .749 OPS with his dependable glove and speed on the bases while usually starting for the White Sox and Orioles. He's also shown flashes of power, with 17 homers for Chicago in 2013. 

The lefty-swinging Dominican doesn't have the peak numbers of a Victorino or Ramirez, but if the latter's defense and attitude stay shaky and the former can't stay healthy, De Aza may be a difference maker as Boston seeks to stay in a tight AL East race.

"I'm not saying De Aza is going to come in here and platoon in left with Hanley," manager John Farrell told reporters after the trade. "But at the same time we've got a veteran, a guy who can run, a guy that can play all three outfield positions. We were able to acquire a veteran guy who has some success and track record."

It is unlikely De Aza can continue his torrid production, but he deserves to stay in the lineup while he's white-hot and the Red Sox are winning.   

A familiar sight in June: Alejandro is on again.

Red Sox Bobbleheads we'd like to see -- 2015 team & retro set

In honor of Mike Napoli Bobblehead Night, here are some other Red Sox past and present we'd like to see similarly honored -- with a bit of revisionist history at work:

Eduardo Rodriguez following through during record 9th straight win to start his MLB career. 

Pablo Sandoval completing a RIGHT-HANDED home-run swing.

(just reverse the picture--I can't find one)

Hanley Ramirez making leaping catch against the Green Monster -- the ball snug in his glove.

Nine mini-Brock Holts manning all nine spots on the diamond.

Jon Lester shaking David Ross' hand after hurling an 8-0 shutout on Opening Day, 2015.

Nomar Garciaparra going through his between-pitch rituals.

Carl Everett petting Wally the Green Stegosaurus.

Wade Boggs pissing off Barney by drinking all the beer in Moe's Tavern.

Bill Buckner singling to finish Boston's 4-run, game-winning rally in 9th inning of Game 7 of 1986 World Series at Shea Stadium.

Carlton Fisk signing his new three-year contract after it arrives in the mail on Dec. 18, 1980.

It's a 1981 card (sigh)

Don Zimmer and Bill Lee hugging after Lee shuts down the Yankees to save the 1978 AL Playoff.

(This was taken a few innings before)

Bernie Carbo rounding the bases  after his third pinch-homer of the 1975 World Series clinches the championship for Boston.

Jackie Robinson, resplendent in his home white Red Sox uniform, congratulated by on-deck hitter Roy Campanella after Opening Day homer, 1949.

(I know, just squint and make believe)

Babe Ruth on deck in 1927 World Series for Red Sox at Fenway Park -- Boston's fifth Fall Classic of the decade in "The House That Ruth Shook."

Eduardo Rodriguez dazzles in first Red Sox start -- now Ben needs to give him another

For starters, Rodriquez lives up to the hype.

For most of two months, the Red Sox have sought the spark needed to get their season on track. Now that they may have found it, they would be smart to keep it around.

Last night, in his major league debut, Eduardo Rodriguez shut down one of MLB's hottest-hitting teams in a 5-1 win over the Texas Rangers.  Boston's much-hyped lefthander allowed just 3 hits and 0 runs in 7 2/3 innings, with 7 strikeouts and 2 walks, while performing with poise well beyond his 22 years. 

In fact, Rodriguez pitched with the type of confidence that another Red Sox lefty -- Jon Lester -- displayed so often during his long career in Boston. Beginning with a strikeout of .368 hitter Prince Fielder to end the first inning, Rodriguez was in control throughout the contest with excellent command of his 93-94 mph fastball, slider, and change-up. 

Eduardo has a grip on things.

He did a terrific job moving in and out off the plate, and in mid-game allowed just one walk in a 15-batter stretch that included three strikeouts in the fifth inning. His 106 pitches tied his career high as a professional.

When Rodriguez got the call to report to Arlington from Triple A Pawtucket, he did so with the understanding that he would be returning to the minors after one spot start -- serving as a hole-plugger during a 20-day stretch in which the Red Sox have no days off. Now, however, GM Ben Cherington may want to reconsider that strategy.

If ever a guy deserved a chance to earn a spot in the rotation, it's Rodriguez.

Just how monumental was this performance? You have to go back to 1967 and the near no-hitter by "Impossible Dream" footnote Billy Rohr to find a younger Red Sox pitcher who went further in his MLB debut.

Billy Rohr went 8 2/3 no-hit innings in his debut.

Throw in Hanley Ramirez's first home run since April 29 and three-hit nights from leadoff man extraordinaire Dustin Pedroia and No. 2 man Mookie Betts, and you have one of the most satisfying wins of the year.

Whether it also turns out to be one of the most meaningful remains to be seen. 

Knuckleballer Steven Wright -- coming off an excellent start of his own last weekend -- will do his best to keep the mojo going Friday night.

When asked before Rodriguez's start whether an especially strong outing would force the club to keep him around, Boston manager John Farrell said "we'll really, really reconsider." After the game, Farrell said the rookie would definitely be making another start -- if it was up to Farrell.

The final decision, however, will be made by Cherington. Let's hope he makes the right one.

Fielder and the Rangers had no answers.