BOSTON (AP) — With J.D. Martinez on second after his tiebreaking double and the crowd thinned by a 98-minute rain delay, there were still enough fans in Fenway Park on Monday for a healthy chant of “Re-sign Xander!”
“Yeah, I heard it,” said Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, a three-time All-Star and two time World Series champion who is eligible to be a free agent after the season. “I just told myself, I said, ‘Listen here, brother, don’t strike out. Put it in play, see what happens. Just don’t strike out.’”
Bogaerts did not strike out. He hit a two-run homer that was enough for the Red Sox to relax — even after Houston’s leadoff hitter reached in the ninth — and hold on for a 6-3 victory over the Astros.