Red Sox 9, Angels 7: Today, Redemption Is Spelled Y-U

Here’s what Yu Chang’s life looked like a month ago:

What must it feel like to find yourself in the center of that tornado of adulation? How impossible is it go to sleep that night? What specific variety of adrenaline hits after you slam one of the biggest home runs in the history of your baseball-mad country, in a packed stadium in that very country?

And then what does it feel like when, a few of weeks later, you cross a couple of oceans, rejoin your still relatively new team, and, while hoping to carry the momentum from Taiwan with you all the way to the Fens and finally prove that you belong at the highest level of the game. . . you start the season 0-17?

Yu Chang really, really needed this game, is what I’m saying. Specifically, he really, really needed this:

And if that wasn’t enough to generate a sigh of relief 17 at-bats in the making, this probably was:

This was a schizophrenic game. There are a few things to feel really good about, like the fact that Rafael Devers hit yet another homer and looks primed to have the best season of his career, or that Rob Refsnyder continues to show that he’s a legitimate threat against left-handed pitching. And there are few things to really worry about, like the fact that Nick Pivetta, while arguably being the most, uhh, dependable(?) pitcher in the Red Sox rotation, is also arguably not worthy of a spot in a big league rotation at all.

But there will be plenty of time to celebrate Rafael Devers and/or bemoan the Red Sox starting pitching over the next five-and-a-half months. Push all of that out of your head for now. It’s Saturday night and Yu Chang almost single-handedly won a game for the Boston Red Sox. That’s pretty damn cool.

Three Studs

1. Yu Chang: .478 WPA, 2-4, HR, 4 RBI
2. Rob Refsnyder: .160 WPA, 2-3, 2B, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB
3. Rafael Devers: -.032 WPA 1-5, HR, 2 RBI

Three Duds

1. Nick Pivetta: -.451 WPA, 4 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 4 K
2. Richard Bleier: -.098 WPA, 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 K
3. Triston Casas: -.121 WPA, 1-4, 2 K

Play Of The Game

I mean, Yu Chang hit a single in the 8th inning that both tied the game and took the lead. If you have a better suggestion, I’d love to hear it.