Phillips debut major hit
Popular veteran’s HR caps sweep of Braves
RED SOX NOTEBOOK
ATLANTA — Brandon Phillips looks like he will fit right in with the Red Sox.
In his first major league game of 2018, the veteran second baseman hit a stunning, two-out, two-run game-winning home run off Atlanta Braves closer A.J. Minter to seal a remarkable 9-8 comeback victory in this increasingly remarkable Red Sox season.
Phillips leaned back and laid into the first pitch he saw from Minter. Before he could drop the bat, he knew he had gone yard.
“Could you tell? Well, I can say yeah, I did,” said Phillips about knowing he got all of it. His approach, he said, was to “Hit something hard. That was basically how it is, I wanted to see something up and something I can drive and he’s a good pitcher, he’s a real good pitcher, I saw him last year when I was with the Braves, and he just left the ball up and I took advantage of it.”
When he returned to the dugout, Phillips was reminded how his wait this year was worth it.
“Ah, them boys crazy — I loved it a lot, those guys, ‘welcome back to the league’ — they said all kinds of stuff like that, it was funny, man, they really made me smile and made me feel like I’ve been here and I really thank those guys for that,” said Phillips.
Steve Pearce, who played a part in the season-best six-run rally in the eighth inning, was part of the welcoming crew for Phillips.
“Ecstatic, ecstatic. We’re down to our last out,” Pearce said. “That’s their closer on the mound. Talk about picking your team up and making your presence felt, that was awesome. That was so cool to see.”
Phillips, 37, was called up from Triple-A Pawtucket after a half-season in the minors and a big league career that began in 2002.
“For (Sox manager Alex Cora) to give me a chance to play today, and for myself to take advantage of it, speaks highly of hard work and dedication,” Phillips said. “It was a team effort. These guys went out there and busted their butts to get back. It wasn’t looking good at the beginning but just watching these guys when they’re down and they come back and sometimes they score 11 runs in an inning. I’ve never seen something like that.”
Cora was thrilled Phillips.
“When he hit it, the reaction of everybody was great,” the manager said. “It didn’t feel like September baseball. Where we were in the game, and all that happened, I’m speechless. I’m like, whatever. It was fun. It was fun and I’m glad we pulled it out. That’s a good team, that’s a really good team. They can battle too, so whatever, enjoy the off day (today) and go get Houston.”
The Red Sox had just two hits when the eighth began but they quickly loaded the bases on consecutive singles by Christian Vazquez, Tzu-Wei Lin and Jackie Bradley Jr. Blake Swihart then doubled in two runs and Andrew Benintendi singled home JBJ. Pearce made it 7-5 with a pinch-hit sacrifice fly and Phillips reached on an error to reload the bases, leading to pinch-hitter Ian Kinsler’s game-tying two-run single.
“It was awesome, it was like, ‘Uh-oh, we’re starting for to do it,’ then, boom, the hits started to happen,” Pearce said. “We scored on the error, took advantage of it. We all felt the momentum starting to shift. We all felt it. Everybody felt it. Then we started delivering.”
In the bottom of the eighth, Brandon Workman gave up a one-out homer to Freddie Freeman that put the Sox in an 8-7 hole entering the ninth. Phillips and Craig Kimbrel (save No. 38) took care of the rest as the Sox finished a three-game sweep of the Braves.
The atmosphere was electric in the dugout.
“We scored then they hit a home run — whatever,” Cora said. “We were in the top of the order and Benny put a good at-bat against a lefty and (Pearce) put a good at-bat and that happened. Nobody was down honestly. Something cool about these guys, they really don’t care. It’s hot and it’s September and we’re in first place and we’re going home, they really don’t care. They want to play baseball and have fun and they did.”
Six sense again
It was the 11th time this season the Red Sox have scored at least six runs in an inning, and the third time in the eighth inning or later.
“I don’t know that it was,” Cora said when asked if it was the best rally yet. “There was a fun one to sweep the Yankees, that was fun. But to be able to use everybody that was great, I think everyone is happy with that.”
Phillips was the first Red Sox batter to homer in his debut since Hanley Ramirez hit two home runs on April 6, 2015.
The game-winner was the only home run hit by the Red Sox in the series.
Thorny situation
The Red Sox tried to stay away from Tyler Thornburg during the three-game set.
“He’s available — we rode him hard last week — he’s a full go but we have to be careful,” Cora said.
Here’s another reason to be careful: Thornburg has an 0.82 ERA after 11 appearances at Fenway Park, a 10.61 ERA in 11 appearances on the road.
On Friday night in Chicago, Thornburg walked two and allowed a three-run home run . . . .
Cora described how he can tell when reliever Matt Barnes is starting to suffer from being used too often.
“Sometimes it’s his delivery, can he maintain his release point?” Cora said. “There’s a lot of stuff that goes on in there, especially at home, everything we have going can tell us if there are some red flags. It will be good to get back home to see where they’re at in terms of delivery and release point. Do they really need a rest or just didn’t execute pitches.”