A tribute to Jose Iglesias
Netflix is smiling these days.
The documentary crew that has been tirelessly following around the Red Sox from Day 1 is being rewarded for their perseverance and efforts. As we sit here with Alex Cora's team sitting nine games over .500, this story is writing itself.
The easy-to-embrace narrative solidified itself even further Friday night thanks to one of the best wins of the Sox' season, a 10-inning, 5-3 win over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
Scene: Masa Yoshida, highly-paid second-year designated hitter who had done little to define himself throughout this season, fights back from an 0-2 count against New York closer Clay Holmes to land with a full-count with two outs in the ninth. Never once in Yoshida's Sox career had he hit a homer on a 3-2 count, and had gone deep with two strikes just once since April 2023.
But in a flash Yoshida rekindled the kind of clutch image he offered for Team Japan in last year's World Baseball Classic, launching a game-tying home run out of nowhere.
But, as is the case with much of the Red Sox story-telling this season, the Yoshida homer was just one of a few highlights.
There was the resiliency of a team who saw its ace, Tanner Houck, succumb to the rain delay-induced rustiness while lasting just 3 1/3 innings.
You had two relievers in Bailey Horn and Cam Booser who hadn't introduced themselves to the majors league club into well into the season coming on and tossing 4 2/3 scoreless innings after Houck.
And, not to be forgotten, was more spot-on button-pushing from manager Alex Cora, who chose to pinch-hit Dominic Smith for Romy Gonzalez in the ninth just before Yoshida's at-bat despite Gonzalez supplying the visitors with their only run (a fifth-inning solo homer). The result was Smith allowing for the Yoshida at-bat with a single.
Finally, there was Ceddanne Rafaela.
The rookie who had looked overmatched at times at the plate throughout the first two months of the season, stepped up with the biggest hit of his career by blasting the eventual game-winning two-run over to leadoff the 10th inning.
It was a reminder of how far not only the Red Sox have come, but the steps forward by Rafaela. During this stretch of the last 20 games, during which the Sox own a MLB-best 15-5 record, Rafaela has hit .366 with a .992 OPS.
The player, and the team, is growing up. Moments like this in Yankee Stadium will help expedite that process ... as we were reminded Friday night.
"It's always special to come here and win games,” Cora told reporters. “We know where we’re at in the standings, and like I said last week, let's not settle. Let’s keep pushing and see where it takes us.“