Why Wilyer Abreu’s Inability To Be Selfless Sparked Red Sox Comeback

The Boston Red Sox have been searching for a big swing since the All-Star break.

On Friday, they left eight runners on base in a close loss. On Saturday, they struggled to get anything going offensively. It looked like the same story on Sunday, as the Red Sox trailed the Chicago Cubs by a run into the seventh inning.

In the previous three innings, Boston drew a leadoff walk but failed to put a run on the board. In the seventh, Trevor Story again drew a leadoff walk against Cubs reliever Ryan Pressly. On the first pitch of Wilyer Abreu’s bat, he squared to bunt, but failed to execute the sacrifice. On the next pitch, Abreu hit a ball 404 feet to put the Red Sox ahead. It was the big swing the offense had been searching for.

After the game, Abreu talked about his at-bat.

“I was trying to help the team,” Abreu said through his translator. “We hadn’t had a runner in scoring position all game, so I was trying to get things going. As soon as I missed that pitch, I moved away from it and tried to look for a pitch to drive.”

Contrary to Abreu’s statement, the Red Sox did have one runner in scoring position before the seventh inning. Jarren Duran had advanced to third on an interference call as he rounded second base in the sixth inning.

The Red Sox might be fortunate that Abreu couldn’t execute the sacrifice, though. After his home run, Garrett Whitlock pitched a scoreless bottom of the seventh, and the floodgates opened after that. Alex Bregman hit a pinch-hit, three-run home run, and Abreu followed it up with another solo home run.

Abreu now has 19 home runs on the season, which is already a career high for the lefty. He’ll likely try to stay hot as the Red Sox face right-hander Zack Wheeler and the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.