The Boston Red Sox offense was in desperate need of a spark when Willson Contreras stepped to the plate and provided the swing of the season.
It has been a brutal stretch for the much-maligned offense of the Boston Red Sox, who have struggled to generate any real threats and failed to capitalize on the few they have gotten over the last 10 days. That all changed when Willson Contreras stepped to the plate in the top half of the eighth inning and provided the swing of the season, propelling the Red Sox to a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves.
It appeared to be more of the same for the Boston offense, which came out of the gates with an opportunity to score but couldn't cash in. Jarren Duran led off the game with a double to right field. Starting pitcher Bryce Elder quickly escaped the jam, retiring the next three batters in order, two via strikeout. Braves catcher Drake Baldwin made the Red Sox offense quickly pay for the missed opportunity, launching a leadoff home run off the bat of Payton Tolle to give the Braves a 1-0 lead.
The Boston offense was able to capitalize on its second opportunity in the top of the fourth inning after catcher Mickey Gasper and right fielder Wilyer Abreu led off the inning with singles. Braves third baseman Austin Riley then gave the Red Sox offense the break they needed, committing an error on a Contreras ground ball that was tailor-made for a double play. With the bases loaded, Masataka Yoshida stepped to the plate and did what he does best: put the ball in play. Yoshida lofted one out to left, just deep enough for Gasper to tag and score, tying the game at one. Atlanta quickly responded in the home half of the fifth inning, reclaiming a one-run lead thanks to an RBI single off the bat of Baldwin.
It was deja vu all over again in the top of the seventh inning as the Red Sox got a leadoff double, this time off the bat of Ceddanne Rafaela. Yet again, Elder escaped trouble by getting the next three batters, Marcelo Mayer, Andruw Monasterio, and Caleb Durbin to ground out, stranding Rafaela at second and dropping Boston to 0-9 with runners in scoring position.
After Elder quickly retired the first two batters of the eighth inning, the Red Sox offense showed some signs of life, refusing to go quietly into the night. Abreu kicked off the rally with a two-out double, and in stepped Contreras.
Contreras quickly got down 0-2 in the count after fouling off the first pitch changeup from Elder, and cutting through a slider in the dirt. After the ugly swing on the slider, Elder doubled up on the pitch, and Contreras did not miss it, absolutely hammering it to left field to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead. It was a lead they would not relinquish.
"Huge" interim manager Chad Tracy said of Contreras' game-winning blast after the game. "He's our guy, that guy's our presence in the middle of the order that can do instant damage, that changed the dugout in a hurry with that swing."
"It feels great to be able to help the team," Contreras told NESN's Jahmai Webster after the game. "we know that we are trying to play better baseball, have better at-bats...tonight we played for each other," he continued.
The Red Sox improved to 19-26 on the season with the win. They'll look to build off the momentum from Contreras' blast when they go for the series victory on Sunday afternoon. Brayan Bello will get the start for Boston opposite Grant Holmes for Atlanta. First pitch from Truist Park set for 1:35 p.m. ET.
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