How Adley Rutschman did in his Red Sox debut Tuesday
· Yahoo Sports
TORONTO — The stage was set for Adley Rutschman to be the hero in his Red Sox debut Tuesday night. Boston was trailing 5-3 in the ninth inning with two outs and a runner on second. If Rutschman tapped into his power, he could have made his first game after a blockbuster trade a memorable one.
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Instead, Rutschman softly grounded out to third base, where Charles McAdoo threw him out to end the game. Boston lost its fourth in a row — and third by two or fewer runs — but Rutschman felt comfortable in his first action since July 18, when he last played for the Orioles before landing on the injured list with wrist inflammation.
“Really nice to get out there and play today,” Rutschman said. “The guys have a ton of energy. They’re rolling. It’s nice to be out there.”
Rutschman struck out against fellow All-Star Dylan Cease in the first inning, then notched his first hit in the top of the third inning when he reached on an infield single up the middle. The ball left Rutschman’s bat at 79.6 mph but he still beat the throw from a ranging Ernie Clement.
“You’ve got to check the feet per second, because I think I was cooking on that one,” he joked.
Rutschman then walked twice, against Cease in the fifth and again against righty Chase Lee two innings later. In all, he was 1-for-3 with two walks and reached base three times.
“He was fine,” said interim manager Chad Tracy. “He looked good, looked comfortable, looked confident. Liked the buttons behind the plate, worked with Sandy really well, took some good ABs. It was good.”
Rutschman also caught a clean game with starter Patrick Sandoval pitching six innings and relievers Tyron Guerrero and Seth Martinez following him. Catching Sandoval in a bullpen session Monday helped matters.
“I thought he was good,” said Tracy. “Especially these first handful, he’s gonna be working with most of our staff in a game for the first time. As far as I’m concerned watching, it seemed like him and Sandy were in a good rhythm.”
Added Rutschman: “With the little break in between, to be able to really understand the pitchers a little bit better these last couple days, they made the transition pretty easy. Guys have been awesome just working with me and catching me up to speed.”
Rutschman will catch Ranger Suarez on Wednesday before having Thursday off as the Red Sox try to ease him back from the wrist injury. He said he was “100%” ready to put his club debut behind him and just blend in with the Red Sox, who are pushing for their second straight postseason appearance.
“I’ve visualized it a lot,” Rutschman said. “Ever since I went to the postseason a couple years ago, you know that atmosphere and you know what it’s like. There’s nothing better than playoff baseball and doing that with a good group of guys.
“You just don’t put together the wins and streak they put together without having an immense amount of talent and team chemistry. It takes a lot of heart and I think it says a lot about this team and their ability. I’m just trying to fill in and start doing the best I can to join in on the fun.”
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