BOSTON -- It didn’t take long for Kyle Schwarber to have a signature postseason moment in a Red Sox uniform.
Schwarber, in just his second playoff plate appearance for Boston, homered off Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in the third inning Tuesday night, giving the Sox a 3-0 lead with a 435-foot blast to right field. The Red Sox went on to win the AL Wild Card Game, 6-2; Schwarber was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs in the win.
Schwarber is usually pretty stoic, but he let his emotions take over as soon as he launched a high Cole fastball into orbit in front of a packed Fenway Park crowd. He immediately motioned toward Boston’s dugout and admired his shot for a few seconds before heading toward first base.
“That was a fun one... it might have been probably a little bit of overkill on my part, but I was excited and just wanted to keep the momentum going on our side,” Schwarber said. “I probably didn’t know what I was doing; I didn’t. I was just excited that the ball was able to get out of the park, and not trying to show anyone up. Trying to keep the energy going on our side.”
Believe it or not, Schwarber’s blast wasn’t his first against Cole in a Wild Card Game. Back in 2015, as a member of the Cubs, Schwarber took Cole deep in the third inning of the National League Wild Card Game. Chicago went on to win, 4-0.
Cole only recorded six outs Tuesday night, departing in the third inning after allowing three runs on four hits (including two homers). Chasing the ace early was a major key to Boston’s victoryu.
“Gerrit is one of the best pitchers in the game,” Schwarber said. “That’s one of the reasons he got paid that much money. He’s one of the best pitchers in the game. And for us to have the at-bats that we did against him and to get him out early in the game was a positive for us, to be able to get to that bullpen and to start chipping away at those guys.”
Schwarber, who won a World Series ring with Chicago back in 2016, continued his October dominance. In 25 postseason games over six seasons, the slugger is hitting .290 with seven homers, 12 RBIs and a 1.018 OPS. He’ll have more chances to etch his name in Red Sox’ lore over the next few days and weeks. Tuesday’s performance was a good start.
“Two strikes, you see the fastball up and, you know, it looks good to the eyes,” he said. “And it’s probably -- it was a ball, and I was able to get the barrel to it and put a good swing on it. I mean, the crowd was electric there, and it definitely made me get to a point where I didn’t really know what I was doing running the bases. But it was definitely a home run I won’t forget.”
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