The Red Sox beat the Yankees in the wild card, but it may be too tall an order to ask them to beat the second postseason coming of Ruth, Gehrig, and DiMaggio.
In a vacuum, the Rays’ 5-0 wipeout of the Red Sox in Game 1 of the American League Division Series Thursday seemed thorough enough. The deep Rays pitching staff — somehow dominant yet again, even though nine of the 13 pitchers on the team’s postseason had never pitched for Tampa Bay prior to this season — remained in total command through nine innings.
But perhaps more ominous was the Rays’ jaw-dropping display of game-changing postseason performers. Randy Arozarena and Nelson Cruz burnished their historic credentials while phenom Wander Franco introduced himself in stunning fashion, highlighting the difficulty posed by the reigning AL pennant winner.
Arozarena produced one of the most dazzling games in postseason history. The Rays leadoff hitter — who set a record by blasting 10 homers last year in the 2020 playoffs — added to his October legend by going 1 for 2 with a solo homer off Nick Pivetta, two walks, and three runs scored — the last one on a stunning steal of home against Red Sox reliever Josh Taylor in the seventh inning.
“The home run certainly felt [like last October],” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “The steal of home, that was one of the cooler things I’ve seen on a baseball field. Special player. He certainly gets up for the moment. He’s proven that day-in, day-out, and certainly come postseason time . . . I’d never seen anything like [what he did in the playoffs] in 2020, and hopefully I’ll be saying that here in 2021.”
The 26-year-old became the first player in history to hit a homer and steal home in the same playoff contest. His game-changing contributions expanded beyond those two moments, however, as Arozarena set the tone following a walk by Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez to lead off the bottom of the first inning.
When Red Sox wrecking ball Wander Franco lined a pitch to left-center, Arozarena flew around the bases, forcing a bobble by center fielder Kiké Hernández that permitted the leadoff hitter to score. His track speed left the Red Sox on their heels just two batters into the game. He was far from done.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Arozarena laid off a 2-and-2 slider from Nick Pivetta that ran just off the plate. His patience earned him a full-count fastball, which he clobbered into the left-field seats for a solo homer that put Tampa Bay ahead, 4-0.
At that point, the Sox’ likelihood of a comeback seemed remote. Arozarena eradicated any remaining uncertainty in the bottom of the seventh. He negotiated a two-out walk against Taylor and advanced to third when Franco again doubled.
With the count at 1 and 2 and two outs, Taylor was focused on the hitter, Brandon Lowe. Because Lowe is lefthanded, third baseman Rafael Devers was well off the bag for a pull hitter. Devers’s positioning allowed Arozarena to take a huge lead, and he timed Taylor — who, as a lefthander, had his back to third base — perfectly and exploded for the plate.
Taylor tried to step off and throw home, but Arozarena emerged from a cloud of dust having crossed the plate with the first playoff steal of home since Javier Báez in 2016. Arozarena was delighted at a thunderous reception from the fans when he headed to left field for the top of the eighth.
“I go out there because I’m trying to give them a show, and I know they want to see something,” he said through a translator. “That’s what the game is for.”
In 26 career playoff games, Arozarena has a .361/.442/.819 line. That .819 slugging percentage in the highest in playoff history by a player with at least 90 postseason at-bats. He’s followed in that category by Babe Ruth (.744) and Lou Gehrig (.731).
“This game is all about history,” said Cash. “Any time you’re putting your name in those categories like Randy has done, I’ve never seen anything like it in 2020, and hopefully I’ll say that here at the end of 2021.”
Of course, Cruz — who homered off a catwalk against Pivetta, his 18th career playoff homer — likewise has etched his own place in October lore. He has a .667 career slugging mark, behind his teammate, Ruth, and Gehrig for fourth place in postseason history.
Meanwhile, Franco may be the most talented of the bunch. He’s a five-tool prodigy who tied a major league record by reaching base in 43 straight games at age 20 this year. On Thursday, he became the first player ever at age 20 or younger to collect multiple extra-base hits in his playoff debut.
“I’ve been seeing Wander do stupid stuff since [Rookie Ball],” said Rays starter Shane McClanahan. “We could tell then he was special, and he just keeps doing it, and it’s so impressive to watch. Same thing with Randy, too. You know, it’s really fun to go to the field every single day and be, like, ‘I wonder how many home runs Randy is going to hit today.’”
Fun for the Rays — and daunting for any team trying to slow them. The Red Sox — who have lost the last five best-of-five ALDS series in which they dropped Game 1 — got a glimpse of the very tall October order they now face.
Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @alexspeier.
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October 08, 2021 at 11:57AM
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Rays’ Randy Arozarena produced one of the most dazzling games in postseason history - The Boston Globe
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