TAMPA — The Red Sox’ struggles with runners in scoring position, well-documented throughout the season, finally reached epidemic proportions on the last homestand.
Yet, somewhat quietly, the team is overcoming that issue. On Saturday night, their third win in the last four tries, the Red Sox again delivered the winning run in the late innings.
All three victories have seen the Red Sox go ahead in the seventh inning or later.
They waited until the ninth Saturday. After the Boston bullpen allowed two runs to the Tampa Bay Rays in the seventh, the team had the go-ahead run in scoring position and one out for Trevor Story.
Story, who leads the team in RBI, worked the count and then sliced a sharp single to right, scoring Ceddanne Rafaela from second. Just for good measure, they tacked o two more to take a 6-3 win over Tampa Bay.
“It’s fun,” said Story of the at-bat. ‘You embrace the opportunity. A lot of times (over the last few seasons), I wished I could be out there, playing with the boys. That was a big moment in the gsme and it felt good to come through. I’m always excited about those moments because I know I missed a lot of time the last few years, so the opportunities mean a lot to me.”
Facing Tampa reliever Jesse Scholtens, Story enjoyed the battle. After taking a pitch on the outside corner, Story got another one and shot it to the opposite field.
“I let the ball a travel a little more so that I can shoot it to right,” he said. “You don’t have to hit a homer to drive in runs. That’s something that’s been a big part of my game.”
The run-scoring single gave Story 95 RBI for the season, his highest career total since he drove in 108 in 2018. Reaching the centennial mark in RBI this season, with seven games left, would be a nice finish to his season.
“It’s always a goal,” said Story. “What it would mean is that I’m driving in more runs down the stretch, in these big moments. That’s what it would really mean to me. And you can’t drive in runs without guys getting on base for you.
“It’s really a team stat for me, and I really enjoy that. It would be cool to get it done.”
Still, what pushes Story for now is the thought of the postseason, and games like Saturday serve as good preparation.
“We’re a tough team,” said Story. “Being able to win close games like this is what’s going to need to happen ni the postseason. These are the types of games we’re going to play. They’re not going to be easy. We’re not going to be up six or seven, or comfy leads. That’s part of it – we want to embrace that because that’s what it’s going to be going forward.”