The Boston Red Sox were in dire need of some late-inning magic Wednesday night, and that came in form of Adam Duvall.
Duvall, who had already homered in Boston’s two previous matchups with the Astros to begin the road series, struck Houston again.
But this time, it rewarded a gritty collective effort, giving Boston relief amid the most critical point of its season.
Adam Duvall hit a 3-run homer in the 10th in the Red Sox’ 7-5 victory over the Astros.
It’s Duvall’s third home run of the series after he had a three-run home run Monday and a solo shot Tuesday.
Duvall fouled a ball off his foot for the second strike of his at-bat, took a couple of minutes to shake it off, and got checked by a trainer before stepping back into the box.
He then smacked his 14th homer into the seats in left field to put the Red Sox on top 7-4.
ADAM DUVALL FOR THE LEAD AFTER FOULING A BALL OFF HIS FOOT pic.twitter.com/guNc7n3Lpp
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 24, 2023
“Honestly, I don’t know how I hit it after what I did,” Duvall told NESN’s Jahmai Webster postgame. “I was joking with the guys and said, ‘I’m not gonna take my shoe off tonight,’ cause it got me, it squared me up.
“… He’s throwing me turbo sinkers in there so you gotta think after I fouled one off my foot, you know, as an ego pitch, he’s probably trying to go back in there. I was looking at it in there and got it.”
Before the four-game set in Houston, Duvall was batting just .189 with six RBIs in August. However, the 34-year-old is flipped the switch at the plate at the right time.
“He’s made some adjustments and he’s catching up with the fastball and he’s pulling the ball,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “And I think he mentioned that a few weeks ago that he was missing that and so far here he’s put three great swings and that was huge for us tonight.”
The Red Sox climbed up in the American League Wild Card standings, now four games back for the final playoff spot.
“I’m not gonna lie, we’re watching. So, we gained ground but we gotta come tomorrow and win the series,” Cora explained. “We win the series it’s a great road trip for us. And then we go home and we gotta keep grinding.”
Boston and Houston will wrap up its four-game series on Thursday afternoon, with the Red Sox seeking a split.
