Red Sox OF Alex Verdugo ends slump with ‘very special’ birthday homer in front of family

Alex Verdugo was caught in a rare slump at the plate this week, but Saturday’s game against the Angels came with a promise from Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

“Give me one more day, go 4-for-4 and tomorrow is an off day,” Cora said.

It wasn’t quite a 4-for-4 performance, but there was plenty of reason for Verdugo to celebrate after his 2-for-4 day in the Red Sox’ 9-0 win over the Angels.

On his 25th birthday, Verdugo snapped his 0-for-14 skid with a first-inning home run that helped set the Red Sox off for their 25th victory of the season.

With family and friends in attendance at Fenway Park, Verdugo made sure to point around the park to where they were sitting as he trotted around the bases. Behind home plate, Verdugo had his mom and dad for the first time at Fenway Park since he was traded to the Red Sox. And in the first row of the Green Monster seats, sitting right next to the foul pole, was his best friend and his family, who had birthday signs made for the occasion.

“The last thing we want to do is lose,” Verdugo said. “Especially on my birthday, I just want to kind of celebrate it even more. The fact that we won, it’s already a positive thing. That’s the biggest thing, is just to win and for me personally in that first at-bat, just to kind of going through a little skid and have a good at-bat, get a pitch out over and drive it like that in front of my family that’s here and some friends, it was a very special moment for me. Very special.”

Verdugo’s last hit before Saturday came in his first at-bat on Tuesday against the A’s. It had been a cold May for the outfielder, who came into the game batting .226 with just one extra-base hit in the month. Verdugo said he was chasing pitches and trying to force things to happen. A player who typically wears his emotions, he was visibly frustrated with the results.

Saturday, there was no such frustration. It was a very happy birthday for Verdugo, who will enjoy Sunday’s day off and hope to pick up on his newfound momentum next week.

“I’ve got to give credit to my teammates and my hitting coaches and all the coaches really,” Verdugo said. “Everyone is just doing a really good job of trying to keep me in check and keep me feeling positive and just giving me that positive affirmation, ‘Hey man, you’ve got this, it’s a long year. we all know.’

“We go through ups and downs and just to see that your guys, your teammates, your staff, they all care about you and they see that you’re going through something but they want the best for you.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3eRRZel