Boston Red Sox Memories: Top Five Mookie Betts moments
By Sean Penney
13-pitch grand slam
One of the many highlights of the 2018 season was the epic battle between Betts and Toronto Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ on a July night at Fenway Park.
Boston trailed by a run when Betts stepped to the plate with two outs in the fourth inning and the bases loaded. Happ threw everything he had at Betts but the Red Sox lead-off hitter spoiled his best offerings by fouling them off to stay alive.
On the 13th pitch, Betts finally found one in his wheelhouse, a fastball down in the zone that he crushed high over the towering Green Monster in left field for a grand slam.
Betts had entered the game without much success against Happ, going 5-for-31 (.161) in his career against the lefty prior to that plate appearance.
He was also a bit fortunate to have lasted 13 pitches. Betts got jammed on the fifth pitch of the at-bat, floating a pop-up into foul territory. Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak chased after it, only for the ball to clank off his glove when he tried to make a basket catch. The defensive miscue gave Betts a second life and he made them pay.
Happ threw a ball in the dirt on his 12th pitch of the at-bat that skipped away down the third base line. The runners held their positions but what if they had tried to advance? If that ball gets away from the catcher enough to tempt Eduardo Nunez into scampering home then the outcome could have been drastically different. Maybe Nunez gets thrown out to end the inning. Maybe he scores, which takes some of the steam out of the dramatic home run that followed – it’s no longer a grand slam in that case and the score is already tied, lowering the stakes.
A perfect storm of luck and perseverance to keep the at-bat alive allowed Betts the opportunity to energize the Fenway Faithful with one of the most thrilling moments of a historic season.