Red Sox reactions: Trevor Story hits heroic homer in win; Willson Contreras leaves in serious pain

· Yahoo Sports

ARLINGTON, Texas — Instant reactions as the Red Sox (83-70) rally late thanks to hometown hero Trevor Story and beat the Rangers, 4-3, to avoid a sweep in the Lone Star State:

Visit afsport.lat for more information.

1) What had been a quiet three days in Arlington culminated in a very eventful eighth inning — both in good ways and bad — for the Red Sox. Trailing 3-1, Boston took a late lead when Dallas-area native Trevor Story delivered his biggest swing of the season, roping a game-winning three-run homer to left field off All-Star closer Jacob Latz. The downside? One of the runners that scored was Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who was only in the game because he came in as a pinch-runner once slugger Willson Contreras was hit in the hand with a pitch and departed the game in what looked to be intense pain.

It was an intense, dramatic swing for the Red Sox, and one fitting for the season they’ve had. With the win, Boston closed its postseason magic number to three (combined wins and losses by the team occupying the fourth AL wild card spot).

2) Before the eighth, the Red Sox had scored just six runs in 25 innings against the Rangers and Thursday — in a Texas bullpen game featuring a parade of six relievers — was perhaps their worst offensive effort yet. Before Story stepped to the plate, Boston was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and had left seven on base.

Wilyer Abreu walked, then took second when Contreras was hit by the pitch. With one out, Latz landed a 2-2 curveball on the bottom of the zone but Story waited back and crushed it. His first homer since returning from the injured list went 394 feet at 108.2 mph.

It was a chance for Story to atone, too, as he had struck out to end the sixth inning with runners on second and third. Story grew up about 15 miles from Globe Life Field in Irving, Texas.

3) Boston’s night, at least momentarily, turned dark when Contreras was drilled on the right hand on a check-swing against righty Jakob Junis. Junis’ 92.3 mph sinker seemed to hit Contreras in the knuckles and he immediately signaled that he was in pain as he shuffled down the first base line to take his base. Once there, as Abreu (standing on first) checked on him, Contreras crumpled into a crouch as the discomfort persisted. He was immediately removed for a pinch-runner in Kiner-Falefa.

Quite obviously, Contreras’ status will be a story to monitor in the hours and days ahead, especially with just nine games to go in the regular season.

4) With a sudden lead, Chad Tracy managed his bullpen in an unexpected — and perhaps concerning — way. After Wyatt Olds had replaced Sonny Gray and gotten the last two outs of the seventh, Tracy left him in for the eighth, then brought another rookie (Alec Gamboa) in to face the left-handed Corey Seager. Seager singled with one out but Gamboa got an inning-ending double play.

In the ninth, it was Garrett Whitlock — and not closer Aroldis Chapman — who entered to protect the lead. It wasn’t a matter of overuse with Chapman, either, because he hasn’t pitched since Saturday.

Facing the heart of Texas’ order, Whitlock worked around a one-out walk to record his fourth save of 2026. He got an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play to end it.

5)Gray got in a deep hole by allowing three runs in his first two innings but still turned in a strong, efficient outing. He took a no decision, lasting 6 ⅓ innings and was charged with three runs on three hits. Gray struck out six but walked three hitters.

The early trouble came in many forms. With two outs in the first, Josh Jung got a sinker in the zone and hammered it for an opposite-field homer. Gray then experienced a death-by-papercut second inning. He walked the first two batters he faced, then Nicky Lopez laid down a nice sacrifice bunt to put them both in scoring position. Texas scored two more runs and went up 3-0 on a bloop RBI single by Danny Jansen and a squeeze bunt from Evan Carter.

After the third run scored, Gray retired 14 of the final 16 batters he faced. His night ended with a 13-pitch walk to Lopez. He threw a season-high 102 pitches in what should be his second-to-last start before the postseason.

6) Before Contreras’ injury and Story’s swing, a stagnant offense was again the story. On Wednesday, Boston managed three hits against high-octane arms MacKenzie Gore and Nathan Eovaldi, who each threw four innings. This one felt worse because it was a bullpen game in which the crew of Tyler Alexander, Cody Bradford, Chase Silseth, Robby Ahlstrom and Jakob Junis pitched before Latz. Other than Story’s bomb, Adley Rutschman’s sixth-inning ground rule double was the only extra-bagger of the night.

As huge as Story’s swing was — it felt like a huge momentum-turner in the moment and after the game — there are still a ton of key Red Sox who aren’t clicking at the plate, including Roman Anthony, Abreu , Rutschman and Jarren Duran.

A particularly ugly sequence for the offense came in the second inning when the left-handed Bradford — with a 4.72 ERA and topping out at 90.5 mph — struck out Rutschman, Story and Duran on a combined 11 pitches (10 strikes). All three at-bats were rather uncompetitive.

7) On the second pitch he threw to leadoff man Ezequiel Duran in the first inning, Gray slipped on the mound so demonstratively that he didn’t deliver the pitch. It was ruled an automatic ball. Gray didn’t seem too pleased about the mound’s condition at that point. One has to wonder if it had anything to do with his loss of control in the second, when he issued free passes to Wyatt Langford and Jake Burger.

8) Before the eighth-inning rally, there was no inning more frustrating for the Red Sox than the seventh. Thanks to wild lefty reliever Robby Ahlstrom walking the first two batters he faced, Boston was gifted a chance to get back in the game. Nick Sogard then ripped a 407-foot flyout that was caught at the ball and Roman Anthony (after falling behind 3-0) grounded into a fielder’s choice that plated one run. Righty pitcher Junis came in to face Mickey Gasper and got him to hit a dribbler to first base for the escape.

9) A number that illustrates Gray’s propensity for limiting damage all season? Jung’s home run was the 16th he has allowed this year — and the 14th solo shot.

10) Texas and Boston tied their series, 3-3, which won’t matter much because a head-to-head tiebreaker between the teams is very unlikely to come into play with the Red Sox up six games over the Rangers.

11) The Red Sox will fly to the Tampa area late Thursday ahead of a three-game series against the first-place Rays that starts Friday night. Here’s the schedule (plus pitching probables):

Friday, 7:10 p.m. ET — LHP Ranger Suarez (7-4, 3.33 ERA) vs. LHP Ian Seymour (9-6, 4.27 ERA

Saturday, 4:10 p.m. ET — TBD vs. RHP Freddy Peralta (9-11, 4.67 ERA)

Sunday, 1:40 p.m. ET — TBD vs. RHP Griffin Jax (7-10, 3.80 ERA)

More Red Sox coverage

Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Read full story at source