Mitch steps up in a pinch
TORONTO — Mitch Moreland sat on the bench for six innings last night, but finished the game with four RBI in the Red Sox 7-1 victory over the Blue Jays.
If there’s a perfect explanation for that, Moreland doesn’t seem to have it.
The nuts and bolts are that he hit a pinch-hit home run, then singled in two more runs an inning later. But the how and why are more complicated.
Perhaps he’s found some comfort coming off the bench. Maybe he’s been refreshed with occasional days off. Could be he’s simply gotten back in that groove that carried him through the first two months of the season.
Whatever the reason, Moreland is 3-for-7 as a pinch hitter this season, and he’s hitting .346 with six home runs and 19 RBI in his past 27 games.
“I think it coincides with Hanley (Ramirez) getting to first base,” manager John Farrell said. “Not as a direct result, but Mitch has been able to get a breather every now and then to freshen up somewhat.
“He’s had a grinding of a year with a broken toe, the highest number of at-bats in his career. So to get a little breather and stay fresh, he’s in a good place for the entire month.”
Has the occasional time off — he’s had fewer at-bats this month than any other this season — helped Moreland get back to the way he hit earlier in the season?
“It’s about to be September,” Moreland said. “I don’t know if anybody’s feeling too fresh right now. Definitely one of those things where you maybe get off your feet a little bit. I don’t know. Maybe that’s something to do with it.”
The Red Sox needed it last night. They were tied at 1 in the seventh when Moreland hit for Chris Young against righty reliever Tom Koehler. The two-run homer was his 18th of the season, and it put the Red Sox in front.
He seems comfortable as a pinch hitter, but he said that’s not necessarily the case.
“I don’t think that ever happens,” he said. “It’s seemed to go well for me lately, I guess. If I knew what the difference was, I’d try to do when I started, too, I guess. It’s one of those things where you try to be ready and stay in tune with the game and just wait your turn.”
An inning later, Moreland drove in the last two runs of a four-run inning that gave the Red Sox breathing room.
He showed up to find his name out of the lineup, and he left with the most hits and RBI in the game.
“You never know,” Moreland said. “You just kind of keep an eye on the other team’s bullpen, or that’s what I try to do. Watch the other team’s bullpen, watch where we are in the lineup.
“In those middle to late innings, you just try to stay locked in on that kind of stuff. The quicker you can look at it, the more you can be prepared for it.”