(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
When one thinks of a hero, they picture a superhuman with frightening powers that can fight crime and take down any villain that come at their wake. Additionally, they see them doing their business in a bustling metropolis where its citizens can always expect their savior to be there for them in their time of need. They certainly don’t think of a hero being present in the middle of the baseball diamond.
But you couldn’t help but think of that after last night’s marathon where Nathan Eovaldi, the Boston Red Sox’ supposed Game 4 starter who originally had no business being there, was called up to throw 6 dominant innings in relief over the Los Angeles Dodgers which ended in heartbreak as the latter walked-off thanks to a home run hit by Max Muncy in the bottom half of the 18th inning.
Coming into the year, you wouldn’t have expected for this man to be remotely close to the World Series. He started 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rays and was fairly average, putting up a 3-4 record in 10 starts and an ERA of 4.26 along with 53 strikeouts in 57 innings pitched. But that wasn’t to say that he breezed by this period unfazed.
He was hampered by injuries with his right elbow during the summer through the presence of loose bodies (small fragments of bone and/or cartilage that break free within the joint of a given body part). As a matter of fact, if you look at his track record with injuries as a whole, you would see that he had 2 Tommy John surgeries in his career, with one being done while in high school and another in 2016, which forced him to sit out the entire 2017 season as a result. Despite these setbacks though, the Houston, Texas-born pitcher persevered and continued grinding as the year went on.
In July, he was traded to Boston to help with their World Series aspirations. From then on, he improved his game by pitching a 3.33 ERA with the Red Sox through his 12 appearances (11 of them were starts) in the second half of the regular season. In the postseason, he continued his positive string of performances by accumulating a 2-0 record and helping Boston win key games in both the ALDS and ALCS. The fashion in how he contributes also deserves an eye, as he pitched both in relief or from the very beginning of the game. This displays his versatility which can be vastly helpful for his manager to make decisions on when he should use him in a game.
As I said before, Eovaldi was slated to start in Game 4 of the World Series for Boston; but with Game 3 turning out as it did (for over 7 hours(!), which is a new MLB postseason record), manager Alex Cora decided to take a gamble by using his starter to shut down the Los Angeles Dodgers offense in hopes of galvanizing his team to take the lead and, hopefully, the game.
Eovaldi did his job exceedingly well, but the offense couldn’t solve their bullpen adversaries, as they matched Eovaldi’s masterful performance with a number of relievers by sharing the brunt of the work between them. While Eovaldi was pitching for the Sox deep into the night, 5 separate pitchers did the same in that span for the Dodgers (Scott Alexander, Dylan Floro, Kenta Maeda, Julio Urias and Alex Wood).
Sure, Cora could’ve switched Eovaldi out for a reliever so that he would have enough rest for his scheduled start the next day, but he was all in with his chips and he wanted to ride his pitcher all the way for a possible victory and a 3-0 series lead. That gamble ultimately did not work and his team now has to juggle the problem of who will take Eovaldi’s place today in Game 4 while also dealing with the momentum the Dodgers took away from them out of the last game. But say what you want, Eovaldi deserves his rest. He pitched in every game up to this point (the first 2 games were relief appearances in the 8th inning) and his arm is surely shot with fatigue.
With that said, it’s surely not surprising to hear that his display of fearless pitching has inspired his teammates tremendously. Rick Porcello–the starter for Game 3 whose final line on that night was 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER and 5 SO–commented on how he was overcome with emotion while seeing his teammate give his all on the mound. In fact, he was subjected to tears. To him, he was a hero who sacrificed his starting role for Game 4 for the entire team.
Although his showing ended in a back-breaking loss, there’s no doubt in the minds of all baseball fans that he deserves all the respect he’s receiving from pundits who watched the entirety of the game’s extra innings. Heck, when the game was over, I myself reflected on Eovaldi’s performance being legendary and memorable. Through his shortcomings as a ballplayer, last night might’ve been his ascent to greatness in the halls of the World Series. Whether his team wins or loses, in the end, is not important. Nathan Eovaldi will undoubtedly be remembered for what he did in those 6 extra-innings for years to come.
