BOSTON — In a conversation last month, a high-ranking Red Sox official referred to Rob Refsnyder as the team’s “de facto captain.” Both on and off the field Monday, he showed why.
Refsnyder addressed some young players before the game in an effort to get the Sox back on track and then snapped a four-game losing streak with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th as Boston beat the Rangers, 5-4. Refsnyder was only in the lineup against a right-handed starter because Jarren Duran was suspended by the team for two games for directing a homophobic slur at a fan Sunday.
“He plays because of the situation today and we put him in that spot because we wanted to protect the big boy (Rafael Devers) with the two righties,” said manager Alex Cora. “He’s a grinder and he’s one of the leaders of the team. Patient, got a good pitch to hit and finished it off. We needed to finish that game at that point.”
The Red Sox entered Monday having been swept by the Astros in three games over the weekend and with a dismal 8-13 record since the All-Star break. Their playoff odds fell to 31.9% (per FanGraphs). Entering a big series against a Texas team the Sox had taken two of three from a week ago, Refsnyder felt it was important to remind some of the younger players to embrace Boston’s identity as a fast-placed, athletic club.
“We’ve been playing our best baseball when our young guys have been pretty electric on the basepaths, playing uber-aggressive,” Refsnyder said. “I think that’s our identity this year. Sometimes, when you lose a couple games in a row you get a little passive. I just wanted our younger guys to push the envelope. They’re so vital to our offense.
“To get in the postseason, you can’t be scared to make mistakes. We’ve got to just play the way we’ve been playing the past couple weeks.”
Of the 26 players who were active for the Red Sox on Monday, eight are rookies. A trio of players set the table for Refsnyder in the 10th inning when, facing a one-run deficit, the Red Sox rallied to tie, then win it. Enmanuel Valdez, who has bounced back and forth between the majors and Triple-A all year, hit the game-tying double to lead off the 10th. Rookie Nick Sogard singled to put a man on third. Mickey Gasper, a 28-year-old rookie who was called up Monday, worked a walk to lead the bases with one out.
“It was fun to watch, man,” said Cora. “We’re playing with kids. We’re playing with kids in the middle of trying to make it to the (playoffs). You look around and you’re like, ‘Wow, this is really happening here.’ They’re enjoying the moment.
“Ref talked to them today. Like, ‘Hey, if this is gonna happen, you guys have to push the envelope and start playing fast again and with joy out there.’ It’s not that they’re feeling the pressure but obviously, it’s not that easy.”
With the bases loaded and two outs after Masataka Yoshida grounded into a force play, Refsnyder came up to face righty Gerson Garabito. After seeing how Garabito attacked other righties like Ceddanne Rafaela and Gasper, Refsnyder was looking for a cutter that would run in on him. He got one over the middle of the plate and smoked it 97.6 mph into the center field gap.
The single was the second walk-off of Refsnyder’s career and his first since 2022.
“It was a really, really good team win and we really needed it,” Refsnyder said. “We had a tough little stretch right there, so it was big.”
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