TORONTO — It is very likely too little, too late by now. Too much of the season has elapsed and too few games remain. The math remains highly problematic.
But the fact remains that the Red Sox are not giving up. They’re not giving into the temptation to go gently into that good night.
They are not, in other words, quitting — quietly or otherwise.
On Tuesday night, they felt victim to some of their own worst habits from throughout the season, not the least of which has been the failure to deliver with runners in scoring position. Late in the game, they were a woeful 2-for-12, on the heels of a 1-for-9 performance on Monday in a series-opening win. Even with some clutch at-bats in the final inning, they finished the game 4-for-17 in that category.
But after tying the game in the eighth inning, they erupted for three runs in the top of the 10th, then held on for dear life in the bottom of the inning as the Toronto Blue Jays closed to within a run with the bases loaded. Not until a soft liner to temporary third baseman Enmanuel Valdez was this one — 6-5 in 10 innings — secure.
It was the fourth win in a row for the Red Sox and moved them 3.5 games out of the third wild card spot. Again, the odds are hugely against them. Thing is, the Red Sox don’t seem to care.
Alex Cora, wearing a satisfied grin as he readied to take post-game questions, labeled the victory “one of the most gratifying wins since I’ve been here.”
That covers a lot of ground and might have been somewhat hyperbolic. But after using every one of his 14 position players and every one of his available relievers — Greg Weissert and Josh Winckowski were deemed unavailable — it was easy to forgive Cora’s exaggerated rhetoric.
The game had everything, including a 10th-inning double-switch, four different players moving positions in-game and rookie Chase Shugart, having walked in one run already, narrowly escaping to slink away with his first major league save.
“It was fun,” concluded Cora. “We put ourselves in this position and obviously, it’s not a perfect one. But for us, it’s just go out there and try to make it count. The boys, they did an amazing job fighting all the way to the end. We used everybody.”
Cora utilized 25 players along the way and had it not been for a late-game double-switch, was facing the prospect of using a pitcher to hit in the top of the 11th inning.
“Trying to win the game,” shrugged Cora. “You cannot do that every time…..Grinding and fighting, (the energy) in the dugout. I’m telling you, man, there was a lot of anxiety and we pulled it out.”
One of the unlikely heroes with Vaughn Grissom, who collected three hits, including one that delivered the eventual game-winner — a sharp single to left in the top of the 10th.
“Anytime you can give your team a chance to get away like that, late in the game….sick,” said Grissom, who returned to the big league club only last week after spending much of the year exiled at Triple A.
Grissom’s first half in Boston was a disaster, a mix of injuries and underperformance. But after getting hot in the final month at Triple A, he’s carried some of that momentum back to the playoff race.
“It’s huge. Obviously, I missed a lot of time,” he said. “It’s been good to just get out there and just compete with the guys and put us in a good spot, you know?”
Grissom seemed broken earlier in the year, unsure of how to fix himself and limited physically. But now, his confidence has returned, just in time.
“That’s a huge thing,” he said. “I was searching a little bit when I was first around. But I just feel confident and that takes care of a lot of that stuff. In those big moments, I feel confident in myself and I feel like (I can succeed) against anyone.”
To make this worthwhile, the Red Sox will likely have to win out in their remaining four games and get some help from the teams currently in front of them in the standings. But in staving off elimination for another day, however slim their chances, they’ve learned some things about themselves.
“We won’t back down from a fight,” vowed Grissom. “We’re just going to keep our heads down and push and see what happens.”
