BOSTON — The thousands of Dodgers fans at Fenway Park erupted in the first inning Saturday when superstar Shohei Ohtani led off the game with a 414-foot, 108.5 mph home run to center field against Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet.
“That was Dodger Stadium-like, to be honest with you,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “I’ve never seen so many people from the opposition in one ballpark. That was different.”
Crochet allowed two solo homers in the first inning but then settled in. The lefty led the Red Sox to a 4-2 victory over the Dodgers in front of a sold-out, mixed crowd of 36,687.
“The first inning, I‘ve never seen anything like that,” Cora said. “Credit to them.”
The Dodgers have made the postseason 12 straight years dating back to 2013. They are reigning World Series champs and their fans show up on the road.
“They’ve done an amazing job throughout the years getting to October and making a habit of that,” Cora said. “And their fan base, they travel well. But that was loud. That was very loud. Never seen anything like that.”
Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran — who went 3-for-4 with two triples, one double and two RBIs — enjoyed the back-and-forth between Red Sox and Dodgers fans throughout the evening.
“There was a lot of blue out there,” Duran said. “More than I thought there would be, but it’s awesome. I mean, it’s always fun to hear the fans going back at it. You know, Dodgers, Red Sox. Dodgers, Red Sox. Usually we hear that when it’s us vs. the Yankees, they yell at each other. But today we got a little Dodgers and Red Sox fans yelling at each other. So that’s always fun.”
Crochet helped shift the momentum (and noise) from Dodgers to Red Sox fans.
He dominated in his next two face-offs with Ohtani. He struck out the three-time MVP swinging on four pitches to end the second inning. Crochet punched him out on three pitches to end the fourth, stranding runners at the corners. He started the fourth-inning at-bat with two fastballs (97.7 mph, 97 mph) that Ohtani fouled off and then got him to swing and miss on an 87.9 mph cutter.
Crochet recorded his 11th career double-digit strikeout game and fifth this season. He allowed two runs, eight hits and two walks while striking out 10 in 6 innings.
“I think that we saw it when New York came to town as well,” Crochet said about the atmosphere inside Fenway. “Honestly, I feel like we’ve been seeing it the past month-plus. It seems like every weekend here is sold out and very lively. It’s a great crowd to play in front of, for sure.”
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Source link
