BOSTON – The Red Sox have important games to play in September.
That’s probably a win early in the season. At the height of the championship race, it’s the bare minimum as Boston looks to stay in the championship race. The ballclub did that thanks to Nick Pivetta’s six innings and Tyler O’Neill’s walk-off home run to win the game and take the series from the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night at Fenway Park.
“We’ve been pitching, which is great,” Cora said. “Hopefully we’ll start hitting again at some point. Go through the game. We took advantage of a hit and (O’Neill) put a good swing on it. We obviously needed that. Hopefully this is the start of something big.”
“This is what you live for,” Pivetta said. “It’s a very exciting time. It still comes down to the same game on the same night. Go out there and throw the balls and do your best to keep the team in the dugout as long as possible so you can hit and do what you do.”
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Even with a high-octane extra-innings win for the Red Sox, the path to the playoffs remains bleak. The Red Sox have just 16 games left and need help from teams ahead of them in the American League to have any chance of playing in October.
“It’s day by day,” O’Neill said. “You can’t look too much at the big picture. Every day you have to win a game. You have to make up ground by winning games and other teams losing. You can’t focus on other teams right now. We have to focus on ourselves.”
The Red Sox face a seven-game road trip against the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays, and the team must not only stay afloat, but also do everything it can to stay in the running at the end of the regular season.
“Still there,” Cora added. “It’s getting harder and harder, but it’s realistic. Let’s be honest. Let’s go to New York and win the series. We just won a series against one of the best teams in the big leagues. In our situation, of course, that’s not enough. We have to keep going. We won two series here at home. For some people, that doesn’t feel great. For us, it does. Now we’re going to go to New York and try to play some good baseball there.”
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Red Sox Wrap: Nick Pivetta dominates before Boston leaves the field in extra innings
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Here are more notes from the Orioles’ game against the Red Sox on Wednesday:
– Red Sox rookie Ceddanne Rafaela scored his 70th run of the season, extending his lead among American League rookie pitchers.
– Pivetta threw six innings and allowed two or fewer earned runs for the third consecutive start for the Red Sox.
– Although Boston ended the season with a loss to the Orioles, they have finished 4-2 in their last six games against Baltimore and have won each of their last two series against their American League East rival.
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— O’Neill hit the second walk-off home run of his career, his fifth walk-off hit of his career and his second of the season.
– The win kept the Red Sox four games behind the Minnesota Twins, who defeated the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday, and secured the final playoff spot in the American League.
— The Red Sox hit the road and begin a four-game series in New York against the Yankees on Thursday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on FOX.
