Renteria Lets His Bat Do The Talking
Sox shortstop ignites rally with two-run single in eighth
By Ian Browne / MLB.com
May 18, 2005
OAKLAND -- Some 3,000 miles to the East, there was more fodder on the talk shows back home about Edgar Renteria's early struggles with the Red Sox. Renteria's former manager Tony La Russa even chimed in on a mid-day WEEI show, wondering if Boston, with its intense fan and media scrutiny, was a good fit for the veteran shortstop, who is shy by nature.
Renteria, quiet by mouth, let his bat do a lot of talking in leading the Sox to a 7-5 victory over the A's on Tuesday night at McAfee Coliseum. On this night anyway, worries about Renteria were brushed aside.
With the Sox down by a run and the bases loaded with one out in the top of the eighth, Renteria took the first pitch he saw from A's reliever Huston Street and roped it to the opposite field for a two-run single that put Boston in front for good. In perhaps a sign Renteria's luck is about to change, he had additional fortune on the play, as the ball rolled past Eric Byrnes, allowing Renteria to scoot all the way to third, and more importantly, permitting a third run to score.
Meanwhile, the doubters aren't high on Renteria's list of things to worry about.
"I think I'm going to be fine," said Renteria. "It's just my personality. I don't care what people say. I just come to do my job and play hard every day. Whatever happens happens. That's why I don't worry what somebody says. I just try and do what I can to beat the other team, that's the kind of player I am."
Renteria's resurgence was just part of a spirited win for the Sox, who drew a season high of 11 walks, enabling them to win on a night they had just four hits.
The opportunistic aspect of the win was particularly sweet for the Sox in that it came a day after they stranded 13 runners in a 6-4 loss.
"A lot of walks, a lot of good at-bats," said Sox manager Terry Francona. "We didn't knock the cover off the ball, but we made them work, we took our walks, we got baserunners. That's how we're successful."
The A's, holding a 5-3 lead entering that eighth, self-imploded leading up to Renteria's at-bat. A's reliever Juan Cruz began the inning by hitting Jason Varitek, then he walked Bill Mueller and Jay Payton. With one out, Johnny Damon hit an RBI grounder to first to bring the Sox within one and the play wound up worse for the A's with Scott Hatteberg making an error on the play, allowing the Sox to keep the bases loaded for Renteria.
The clutch knock capped a solid night for Renteria, who roped a double off the wall in the first inning and wound up scoring, and also sparked a rally in the fifth by drawing a leadoff walk against Barry Zito and then scoring on a double to left-center by David Ortiz.
Renteria, who was moved to the No. 2 spot in the reshuffled Boston lineup on Saturday, has looked more comfortable at the plate the last few days.
"I feel good," Renteria said. "I feel better. It just takes time."
His veteran teammates have been more than happy to give him all the time he needs.
"It's taken him a month or so to get going," said Damon. "We know what kind of player he is. We got him knowing what we were going to get. We're going to get 10-plus home runs, 70-plus RBIs, we're going to get 100 runs scored. We know we're going to get that from Edgar, and great defense, too. It was just a matter of him starting for him to feel at home."
Before Renteria delivered the key hit of the game, the contest wasn't all that artistic.
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