Red Sox: Counting down the top ten games of the 2017 season
The New Year is approaching quickly, but first, let take a look back at some of the greatest Red Sox games of 2017.
The 2017 season brought many memories to Red Sox Nation. Sure, the Boston Red Sox failed to win a postseason series again, but the regular season was one for the ages.
We had countless walk-offs, several extra-inning games, and some milestones reached. But with 2017 winding down, let’s take a look back at some of the games that made 2017 fun.
To make this list, the game had to be memorable. It needs to be something you will not soon forget. There needed to be a milestone reached, a record broken, or the ending to the game needed to be fantastic.
But most importantly, it has to be a game that the Red Sox won. Because nobody wants to remember the games the Red Sox lose.
In the middle of Hot Stove season, let’s forget about how the Red Sox have not made many moves yet. For now, let’s just enjoy, and reminisce about the good times of the 2017 season.
Without further ado, here are the top ten games of the 2017 season.
10. Mitch Moreland walks off against the White Sox, giving Boston the 3-2 win.
At the time of writing, Mitch Moreland is the biggest, and only, signing the Red Sox have made this winter. That is not a bad thing, seeing how Moreland came up huge against Chicago in August.
This was another one of the marathon games the Red Sox played in. But compared to others, this was relatively short. The Red Sox outlasted the White Sox in eleven innings at Fenway.
The White Sox took the lead in the fourth on a Nicky Delmonico double, but it did not last long. The Red Sox tied the game only two innings later. However, the starting pitching in the game was the big story.
Carlos Rodon went 7.2 for the White Sox, striking out eleven while giving up two earned. Eduardo Rodriguez went 6 full for the Red Sox, allowing two earned runs on five strikeouts.
The game went scoreless from the 7th to the 11th, when Moreland finally delivered for the Red Sox.
The Moreland opposite field blast gave the Red Sox their tenth extra-inning win at the time, but it was certainly not the last extra-inning win they had.
The next game in the top ten was not nearly as close, but it did have a pretty cool moment.
9. Mookie Betts’ eight RBI’s help Red Sox in 15-1 rout of Toronto.
Mookie Betts had a disappointing 2017 by almost all offensive standards. But on July 2nd, he was the Mookie Betts we saw in 2016.
The Red Sox made the trip north of the border to take on their division rival Toronto Blue Jays, and they brought the power. Betts went 4-for-6 in this game, with a pair of home runs. He also had three runs scored in the game to go with the eight RBI’s.
But other than Betts’ great day, the whole Boston team had a great game. Hanley Ramirez also drove in three runs for Boston, and even Deven Marrero had three hits and two RBI’s.
Drew Pomeranz continued his strong 2017 in this game, he went six innings allowing only one run on five hits.
This game was huge because it helped the Red Sox get a little momentum heading into the second half. This win was the fourth of a six-game winning streak right before the All-Star break. This helped Boston get into position to have the lead in the AL East at the mid-point of the season.
Number eight came against the Blue Jays as well, somebody who shows up a few times on the list. But this time, the game was much closer.
8. Hanley Ramirez launches a moonshot over the Monster, giving Boston the 5-4 win in 15 innings.
This game was another one of the marathon games that the Red Sox had this year. This one went fifteen innings, deep into the summer night.
The evening started with J.A. Happ and Brian Johnson on the mound and lasted five hours in total. There was also an hour-long rain delay included.
There were a total of thirteen pitchers used in the game, eight of which were by the Blue Jays.
The game went back and forth until Dustin Pedroia eventually tied it up in the seventh on a double that scored Brock Holt. Later on, in the eleventh, the two teams traded runs.
Then four innings later, with one out, Hanley Ramirez declared the game to be over.
As great as this home run was, it was not the last time we saw Hanley walk-off against the Blue Jays.
Number seven was a late-season win, that helped catapult Boston over the top. Let’s check it out.
7. Mookie Betts leads Boston to come back over the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4.
In late September, every game is crucial. Especially when you are in the middle of a pennant race with your arch rival.
The Yankees were closing in on the Red Sox when Boston took the trip to Cincinnati, but it turned that series. The Red Sox enjoyed a comeback win in game one and a 5-0 win in game two, but it looked lost in game three.
Boston was down 4-1 heading into the eighth inning, and the Reds brought in their closer Rasiel Iglesias.
Boston loaded the bases, and Mookie Betts stepped up and cleared them all. He doubled to left center, bringing home three runs.
After that, Rafael Devers got on with an infield single, but that was not the impressive part. Betts came around to score on an infield single, giving Boston a lead they would not relinquish.
This win lowered the Red Sox magic number to three and completed the sweep of the Reds.
Number six was much earlier in the season, but everything that happened in the game was amazing.
6. Sandy Leon hits walk-off home run vs Pittsburgh, saves Chris Sale’s Red Sox debut.
This game was the first memorable moment of the 2017 season.
It was the opening week of the season, and it was also the debut of Chris Sale, the Red Sox big off-season acquisition. To say this game was a pitchers duel is an understatement.
Chris Sale went 7.0 innings, allowing only three hits. He struck out seven in the game and gave up one walk. Jameson Taillon was every bit as good for the Pirates, however. He went 7.0 innings giving up five hits, striking out six, and allowing three walks.
This game was scoreless for 11.5 innings until the bottom of the 12th when Sandy Leon finally broke things open, giving Boston their second straight win to open the year.
Leon came up with Jackie Bradley and Pablo Sandoval on base, and then he launched one onto the Monster, giving the Red Sox a 3-0 win.
Leon’s home run did not give Sale the win, but it helped shine a bright light on the night. Had the Red Sox lost in extras, that would have been a sub-par debut. But the home run was the highlight of what should be a big night in Red Sox history.
The next game was an extra-inning game, but it lasted much longer. Let’s check it out at number five.
5. Hanley Ramirez hits walk-off single to give Red Sox the win in 19 innings.
The Red Sox played in a lot of long games this season, but none of those topped this one.
This game featured so many highlights. It had incredible throws, diving catches by the pitcher, and clutch hits. The game lasted six hours from beginning to end, so there was plenty of time for highlights.
The game went back and forth until the ninth when Boston tied it up on a Mitch Moreland groundout. That capped off a two-run ninth that helped Boston push it to extras. After that, the game went scoreless for ten innings, which means that the teams basically played two games that night!
Mookie Betts hit a leadoff double in the 19th, and then Ramirez stepped up and hit a bloop single to center field that ended it. Betts scored on the play, and somehow the Red Sox players had enough energy to chase down Hanley after the game.
The full highlights from the game are wild. Jackie Bradley had a clutch outfield assist in the 11th, which would have given the Blue Jays the lead. Fernando Abad had a huge strikeout in the 17th with the game in the balance.
Overall, if you stayed up for this game, it was a classic.
Number four included two things. It was a beat down for the Red Sox, but it also included a milestone for another player mentioned already.
4. Chris Sale notches his 300th strikeout in beatdown of Orioles.
When Dave Dombrowski went out and got Chris Sale, it was for the long haul. Sale is arguably the best pitcher in the American League, and he was brought in to push the Red Sox over the top in the playoffs.
Despite having a hard time doing that, Sale was dominant most of the regular season, and his final outing against the Baltimore Orioles was indicative of that.
Sale’s entire night was great, even if he did not record the 300th strikeout. He went 8.0 innings, allowing only four hits, and no runs. He struck out thirteen that night, and the thirteenth was magic number 300.
Sale also moved into second place for strikeouts in a single season in franchise history. He finished just shy of Pedro Martinez‘s record of 312 for a season. 2017 was still a magnificent season.
Sale did not have the postseason accomplishments, but he is one of the main reasons Boston made the playoffs.
Hopefully next year, Sale can right the ship, and lead Boston to a playoff series victory.
Number three brought the season to an end, and it ended with a bang. Let’s check it out.
3. David Price slams the door, leads Boston to back to back AL East championships.
Say what you want about David Price, but his run as a reliever for Boston was nothing shy of greatness.
Any time the Red Sox needed somebody to slam the door shut, Price did the job. He had long relief outings, and he also had short relief outings. He did it all.
Some say David Price is not clutch, and that may be true. But on this date, Price was as clutch as they come, shutting down the Astros in the seventh, right after Carson Smith opened the door for them to come back.
Price pitched one inning, allowing one walk, but he struck out two batters, and the third caused Fenway to erupt.
In the bottom half of the inning, Mookie Betts hit a solo home run to give the Red Sox a four-run lead. In the bottom of the ninth, Brian McCann turned on a Craig Kimbrel fastball, making it 6-3. But that was all the scoring to be had. The Red Sox locked up the pennant on the next to last day of the regular season.
With this being the game that the Red Sox clinched, it automatically jumps up the list. But this was a very good game. Drew Pomeranz was great all game, and Mitch Moreland came up with a big hit as well.
This game allowed the Red Sox to win back to back division titles in franchise history. That is something that will stand forever.
Number two includes the moment that a rookie turned into a star for the Red Sox. And it happened on a national stage.
2. Rafael Devers turns around a 103 mph fastball against Chapman. Gives Red Sox huge win vs Yankees.
When Rafael Devers was called up to the bigs, he was called up to platoon at third base until next season. Nobody expected him to be the player that he was. His first major league hit was a home run, and ever since then, he was a star.
But on the big stage, nobody’s star shined brighter than Rafael Devers.
It was on a Sunday night, against the New York Yankees, in the middle of a pennant race. The Yankees led 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth, and the hardest throwing closer in baseball was on the mound.
Aroldis Chapman hurled a 103 mph heater at Devers, and he turned it around. Lefties have a notoriously hard time hitting Chapman, but on this night, Devers made it look easy.
This was the moment that Devers turned into a star for Boston. Any time that you have a big hit against your arch-rival on a huge stage, you become a hero.
But this was not the end. Boston eventually went on to win the game. In the tenth, another Red Sox rookie, Andrew Benintendi, singled to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead. Then, of course, Craig Kimbrel came to close the door.
Boston left New York with a 5.5 game lead, which helped them close it out down the stretch.
Number one was the Red Sox game of the year, but it very well could have been the MLB game of the year.
1. Christian Vazquez hits walk-off home run vs Cleveland, ends crazy 12-10 game.
Chris Sale and Carlos Carrasco both started this game, which would normally mean that this would be a pitchers duel. The Red Sox and Indians both had different plans.
From right off the bat, the Indians took the lead. They led 5-0 after two innings, but Boston quickly chipped away. They briefly tied it up until the Indians went ahead 7-5. The teams went back and forth until the ninth when Cleveland took the lead 10-9.
Then, Christian Vazquez happened.
Vazquez, who is not a power hitter, came up with a huge clutch hit. He hit a towering moonshot to left-center field. It scored three runs and gave the Red Sox the 12-10 victory.
This game was full of highlights, much like the long Blue Jays game. The catch of the year was also in this game when Austin Jackson went flying over the wall into the Red Sox bullpen.
This game was a portrait of the Red Sox season. It was up and down, back and forth, but unfortunately, unlike this game, Boston did not finish the deal. They came up just short.
The offseason is still young. Let’s hope that the offseason goes as well as this game did for Boston.