MLB – How Stars and Unexpected Heroes Have Made the Boston Red Sox Unstoppable

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This is not exactly the best place to hold a party.

Again, this is the best place to host a party, the place where a baseball team spends untold hours in a season, where players discuss wins and losses, where friendships begin and where links of a championship team are gathered.

Mitch Moreland wandered through cramped quarters, a can of Budweiser in his hand, and did not speak to anyone in particular in his Mississippi speech. "I have to find my teammates, where are my teammates?" Finally, Chris Sale, the "skinny", as heard the manager Alex Cora, had enough.

Sale had gone into the ninth in relief of David Price, who pitched more than seven brilliant runs, and Joe Kelly, who finished eighth, to record the last three outings of the Red Sox's 5-1 win over the Dodgers. . in game 5 of the world series. Cora's plan, like everything we've seen in the playoffs, has been worked out perfectly: Price has plunged into the game, withdrawing 14 batters in a row, one of his central lifters not yet announced has launched a white game, then one of his starters appears in relief.

It was normal for Sale to get the last three outs. Cora started Price over Sale in Game 5, reflecting concern over how deep Sale could play considering his last two outings as he struggled with his command and his reduced speed. The pen was very busy at Games 3 and 4, so Cora decided to move to Price – knowing that it had Dirty Embossed if needed. All Sale has done is eliminate the exclamation point of Boston's main playoff race: 11-3 against the Yankees to 100 wins, 103 wins for the Astros and two-time National League champion. During the final strike, Manny Machado gasped helplessly in front of a patented sales slider. The dogpile ensues.

So there was the big southpaw, the safety glbades on his head, in the middle of the crowded pavilion. As we saw in the fourth game, he shouted to his teammates in dugout to start doing SomethingDirty has a voice that can wear a room, even a Dirty Water and Cody Johnson's "Dance Her Home." He hissed and shouted, "If you're not a member of the Boston Red Sox, go get the —." He did not finish his sentence, although someone else did it. It may have been Moreland. The sale ends: "I want to enjoy it with my teammates."

The heroes of Game 5 were Price and first baseman Steve Pearce. The man who started the post-season boasted of the Fenway Park turret against the Yankees and won three consecutive wins, with two of his starts, including this one, which has only three days of rest. In those three games, he pitched 19 innings, giving nine hits and only three points. He will no longer have to face this question – his inability to win in the playoffs. This had clearly weighed him down – or, of course, had become irritating.

"I'm holding all the cards now," he said. "It's so good, it's so good, I can not say how good it is to keep this badet, and you've had it for a long time, you played that card very well." No more, none of you, and it feels really good. "

While Price validated the big contract that the Red Sox had awarded him as a free agent before the 2016 season, Peace was a little known commercial acquisition during the season, a career companion who had stayed in the majors with various teams mainly for his ability to hit left-handed pitching. The Red Sox's got Toronto for Santiago Espinal, a minor league baseball player, a 10th-round pick who signed for $ 50,000. Call it the best $ 50,000 the Red Sox have ever spent.

"It was exactly what we needed," said bench coach Ron Roenicke.

Pearce took on Kershaw in front of the first goal after Andrew Benintendi clinched a soft field in the middle. He killed the Dodgers – and Kershaw in particular, as he had four hits in two games – with a few soft shots all round. Pearce's first pitch was a 92 mph fastball on the outside edge, and Pearce threw a 10-meter (405-foot) blast into the center-left bleachers.

"It has been a trip of a lifetime," said Pearce. "And being here now is a dream come true."

Pearce did not come to the Red Sox before the end of June, but many have described it as one of those "stuck" types that keep a clubhouse together. He played for seven different organizations – not to mention three different periods with the Orioles or one with the Twins when he did not survive the spring training – and was released or given up on numerous times. He has never beaten 300 times in a season until the age of 31.

All he's done, is deliver the three greatest hits of the Boston season. Indeed, he has been hired since the Red Sox acquired it. Since joining the team, he has scored 11 home runs: five against the Yankees, three in the World Series and one in the sixth inning of match 3 in the ALCS (a right-handed player too). ). and the other were home runs in the regular season.

"You know, baseball is a fun game," he tried to explain. "You never know where the game will take you, and I've lived many things in my life or in my career to be here, and I could not be more grateful."

The Red Sox have received many contributions from all of their playoff teammates. Jackie Bradley Jr. is known for his defense, but he has won the honors of ALCS 'most valuable player after scoring nine points, including a grand grand slam. Third-year baseball third baseman Rafael Devers has nine games in the playoffs, including a crucial three-pointer against Justin Verlander in the fifth game of the ALCS.

Then there was the pen – the part of the team that the Red Sox fans were most concerned about entering the playoffs. The Red Sox were not so concerned. "We do not win 108 games without these guys doing the job all season," Roenicke said.

Kelly was the guy who grew up. It had been inconsistent throughout the season and it was not really Cora's first choice with a lead early in the post-season. But Cora found a warm hand and went up Kelly. He competed in all five World Series games, pitched six scoreless innings and allowed only three hits and no points. In the fifth game, he entered after Price was right from the first to the eighth goal. He hit Matt Kemp on a fast 98 mph. He dropped Joc Pederson while watching a fastball at 97 mph. He hit Cody Bellinger while swaying on a 99 mph fastball.

He dug his fist in his glove and screamed in emotion as he escaped from the mound.

This Boston office? He had a 2.71 ERA all the playoffs. In the World Series, he allowed five points in 25 ⅔ and earned an ERA of 1.40. Maybe their MVP was Kelly, Matt Barnes, Ryan Brasier and Nathan Eovaldi.

At the post-game celebration that took place on the field immediately after the award ceremony, friends and family are allowed to meet the players. Martinez posed for a photo with the World Series trophy with his two young nieces, both wearing a Red Sox t-shirt with Martinez's number 28 in shiny silver on the back "Uncle J". Barnes gave the parents a big hug. Barnes grew up in Connecticut – although his father admitted that he was a fan of the Mets. At least until the Red Sox fished Barnes from UConn.

Then there was Pearce. He received his MVP trophy and directed his television interview. He was then taken to the interview room. Behind him, there was a group of family and friends. He still held the trophy. He returned it and handed it. Like a good teammate, sometimes you have to rely on others.