It was an emotional day at the ballpark for Boston Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu.
Abreu on Saturday night learned his grandmother, who spent the last few weeks in the hospital, died. He showed up to Globe Life Field on Sunday hoping he would be able to perform despite his emotions, and Abreu delivered arguably his best game as a big leaguer.
Abreu had his first multi-home run game, and hit his first-ever home run against a left-handed pitcher.
"Obviously, it was a difficult situation," Abreu said through a translator after Boston's 7-2 victory against the Texas Rangers, as seen on NESN.
"I was playing for her and I dedicate this game to her. And I was playing with my heart in my hands so for me to be able to go there and perform, it was very special."
NESN cameras captured Abreu crying in the dugout after his fourth-inning homer off Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi. Abreu was crowded by Red Sox coaches and teammates, including Jason Varitek and David Hamilton, as they consoled Abreu. He was captured crying in the outfield, as well.
Despite those emotions, Red Sox manager Alex Cora never considered removing Abreu from the contest, even when the left-handed batter went up against left-handed reliever Walter Pennington in a big spot in the sixth inning. Abreu said he was grateful for Cora's confidence in that moment. He ensured it paid off, too.
Abreu belted a three-run home run off Pennington, which gave the Red Sox a 6-2 lead.
"I tell you right now, I let him hit because I was like, 'Something good is going to happen here against the lefty,'" Cora said, as seen on NESN. "It just happens. That's life, right?"
Cora added: "We talked to him and he was like, 'I'm good to go.' And was he good to go."
While Abreu's performance was one to be proud of and one he'll never forget, he understands it's part of the bigger picture.
"To be able to go out there and perform with the situation was great for me, and great for the team," Abreu said. "But at the same time, I feel obviously happy for the game, but sad at the same time for what just happened."
Here are more notes from the Red Sox-Rangers series finale:
-- Cora, not pitching coach Andrew Bailey, went out to the mound and spoke with Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta during the second inning. It was after Pivetta allowed his second home run in two innings.
"Sometimes you got to remind these guys they're good," Cora said. "At the end of the day, he's one of our biggest competitors and regardless of the stuff, he's still good enough. It was a reminder of 'Hey, bro, I know you probably don't feel good right now, but you know how to compete and we need you here."
Pivetta said the check-in from Cora helped him get locked back into the game.
-- Cora summed up what he believes is going right for the offense, which has scored six or more runs in 11 of its last 14 games.
"I think staying in the middle of the field," Cora said. "We're pulling the ball in the air, which is great. But we're not trying to pull the ball. We're just getting pitched in the zone, reacting to it, being relentless."
-- Jarren Duran (3-for-4, two RBIs, run, walk) reached base four times for the offense. And making Duran's performance even more notable was the fact he dealt an injury scare Saturday.
"Yeah, the side feels good," Duran told NESN's Tom Caron on the field after the game.
-- The Red Sox again showed their resiliency after the Rangers took a 2-0 lead just four outs into the game.
"I just feel like we're such a young group, we're just always ready to fight," Duran told Caron. "Like I said before, we've been here, we've been down a lot and we've come back from a lot of games. That's something that we're going to be able to have in our back pocket down the long stretch."
-- The Red Sox are 8-2 in their last 10 rubber matches and now 16-3 on Sundays this season.
-- There were 17 home runs hit during the three-game series in Texas, including multi-home games by Red Sox outfielders Rob Refsnyder and Abreu.
-- Boston was 2 1/2 games back of the third America League wild card at the time this was published.
-- The Red Sox depart for Kansas City as they open a three-game series against the Royals on Monday. First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. ET, and you can watch it live on NESN after an hour of pregame coverage.
