Bregman's all-out effort caps Boston's comeback in crazy affair

BOSTON -- It wasn’t as if they were saying, “Run, Forrest, run” as Alex Bregman had a ground ball to beat out in a critical moment on Tuesday night at Fenway Park.

At the same time, Bregman, not a speedster in the best of times, hasn’t been able to muster much traction on the bases since his return on July 11 from a severe right quad injury. It was just two days ago that Jarren Duran joked that he might have been stopped from his first career inside-the-park homer because of the possibility Bregman would be held at third base.

But the gritty All-Star turned on the jets as much as he could to beat out that infield, RBI single down the third-base line with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to snap a tie and help the Red Sox to an eventual 11-7 victory over the Guardians.

This is “go time” as manager Alex Cora’s team pushes toward its first postseason appearance since 2021. At 78-62, Boston is 2 1/2 games behind the Blue Jays in the American League East and tied with the Yankees for the top spot in the Wild Card standings.

“That’s probably the fastest I’ve run since I’ve been back for sure,” Bregman said of a 90-foot trek he made in 4.66 seconds. “We needed to get a win there.”

Bregman also needed a hit, as this one was just his fifth in 44 at-bats since Aug. 23, a stretch in which he has just one extra-base hit and two RBIs.

“I was fired up,” Bregman said. “I haven’t been swinging it really for the last week or so. I actually thought it was the worst swing I took all night. The other swings were much better mechanically, but I've been feeling a lot better the last two days, and I feel like it's right around the corner, just clicking and going on a good run. So, to be able to come through there and get us to take the lead, that was awesome. Big win for us tonight. Keep it going.”

Keep it going, they did. It was the third straight win for the Red Sox, who are an AL-best 36-18 since July 1.

And it happened on a night ace Garrett Crochet got ambushed by three Guardians homers in the top of the sixth, turning Boston’s 5-1 lead into a 7-5 deficit. In all, Crochet gave up nine hits and seven runs over six innings while giving up four homers, tying a career high.

“Yeah, the big boy has picked us up the whole season, and we picked him up today,” said Cora. “That's what winning teams do. He had a bad inning there and the guys kept battling.”

That battle was aided by big hits, none bigger than the two-run moonshot Ceddanne Rafaela hit to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth, giving the Red Sox instant life again after Crochet’s mishap in the top of the frame.

“You look up and it feels like we're down by five or six and it’s only a two-run game,” said Cora. “We were a bloop and a blast away and that’s what happened.”

Just after Bregman put his team ahead, Boston surged with insurance on an RBI double by Jarren Duran and a two-run double by RBI machine Trevor Story.

“[Bregman’s] been struggling,” said Cora. “We know that. So for him to hit that ground ball and be safe, everybody got excited. And then after that, they just kept swinging the bat and getting hits.”

Thanks to the extra cushion, Cora didn’t have to use closer Aroldis Chapman for a third straight day, something he’s only done once this season.

The win also at least temporarily cushioned the blow of losing Roman Anthony indefinitely. The star rookie exited the game with left oblique tightness following a strikeout in the bottom of the fourth inning. He will undergo an MRI on Wednesday.

No matter how long the Red Sox are without Anthony, veterans like Bregman and Story will make sure they continue to push forward.

The rest of the season is a 22-game sprint.

“We got to continue to push along,” Bregman said. “Nobody needs to try and do more than they're capable of. They just need to try and execute their game plan. These are meaningful games in September and all that matters is winning.”