BOSTON -- Gleyber Torres’ eyes bulged with disbelief as his spikes kicked up Fenway Park’s storied red clay, spotting third-base coach Luis Rojas dancing in the grass, his left arm whirling like a windmill. For a moment, the huffing Yankee considered stopping, the equivalent of calling it a night after two good hands of blackjack.
Something inside said to go for it. Torres rounded third base and chugged toward home plate, completing a “Little League home run” that resulted in three runs and helped propel the Yankees to a 5-3 victory over the Red Sox on Wednesday at Fenway Park, sealing a sweep of a two-game series.
“I was a little nervous in the beginning; I don’t want to get thrown out at home plate,” Torres said. “The last couple of seconds, I almost didn’t run. I’m happy to make that play, score and do something for the team.”
Torres’ madcap fifth-inning dash took advantage of Boston’s sloppy defense on a night in which they were charged with three errors and deserved a few more. The Yankees won’t complain; they’ve now won eight of 10 games, residing six games ahead of the Blue Jays and 7 1/2 up on the Rays in the American League East with 19 left to play.
“The confidence has never died down,” said Yankees starter Nestor Cortes, who picked up a victory with five innings of one-run ball. “I know we’ve gone through some tough stretches. That has [made] us stronger. What we’re doing now shows what type of team we are. I think moving forward, we’ve found our stride.”
In the fifth inning, Aaron Hicks and Aaron Judge had reached on a one-out error and infield hit, respectively, bringing Torres to bat with two outs. Facing rookie Brayan Bello, Torres ripped a clean hit to right field, where Alex Verdugo threw home, missing a cutoff man as Hicks scored.
Catcher Connor Wong snapped a throw toward first base, aiming to nab Torres, but his toss sailed down the right-field line as Judge scored. Torres, too, was waved home.
“In the beginning, I’m just trying to protect Judge, because Judge was going to third base,” Torres said. “When he threw the ball to first base, I had the mentality to go third. But then I saw Rojas keep pushing me to home plate.”
Watching the play develop from his perch at the top step of the Yankees’ dugout, manager Aaron Boone said that his internal monologue was something like: “No! Yes! Yes!”
“Sometimes Gleyber thinks he’s invisible out there,” Boone said. “Sometimes it works.”
Boone said that third baseman Rafael Devers appeared to deke Torres to discourage his advance, maybe costing a step. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that Christian Arroyo, a neophyte first baseman, was late to his spot as the cutoff man.
“We had Gleyber there; he was a dead duck,” Cora said. “And we threw the ball away.”
As Torres dove for home plate, he narrowly avoided Wong’s tag, helped to his feet by Judge and enveloped in a hug by Hicks.
“I was safe,” Torres said. “In that situation, I did a really good thing for the team.”
Jose Trevino added a run-scoring double in the sixth for the Yanks, who caught a break in the eighth when replay showed J.D. Martinez did not step on first base while running, a key double play that ended the inning. It was hardly obvious to the naked eye; Boone hesitated to make the gesture that would call for a replay review.
“From my vantage, I was like, ‘He’s safe,’” Boone said. “When they were saying to challenge it, I almost didn’t do it. That was obviously huge.”
Judge finished the evening 1-for-4, his season total remaining at 57 home runs -- four shy of Roger Maris’ single-season American League record of 61, set in 1961.
Cortes tossed 65 pitches, scattering three hits, walking two and striking out seven in his second start since coming off the injured list for a left groin strain.
“I feel great,” Cortes said. “I know I’m building up my pitch count now, but my arm feels great and my body feels great.”
Despite Boston’s cellar-dwelling status in the division race, Cortes said there was still plenty of energy at Fenway for this one -- just ask Torres, who said he needed “like five minutes” to catch his breath on the dugout bench.
“Obviously, when you play the Red Sox, you want to beat them,” Cortes said. “It’s Yankees-Red Sox, no matter where they are in the standings.”
September 15, 2022 at 10:39AM
https://www.mlb.com/news/gleyber-torres-hits-little-league-home-run-in-win-over-red-sox
Gleyber Torres hits Little League home run in win over Red Sox - MLB.com
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