Renteria's Redemption Extra Special
Red Sox shortstop turned page after making two errors
By Ian Browne / MLB.com
August 10, 2005
BOSTON -- When Edgar Renteria stepped to the plate in the late hours of Tuesday night, he did so with the knowledge that he could make the sickening feeling in his stomach go away with one swing of the bat.
Renteria was fairly furious at himself because teammate Matt Clement lost a chance to earn the win on a night the right-hander left with a 7-2 lead.
While the shortstop didn't necessarily deserve all the blame, he felt a good share of it was his for two errors that helped seal Clement's fate.
So he watched with anticipation in the bottom of the 10th inning when Rangers reliever Kevin Gryboski got behind Johnny Damon 2-0 and then decided to walk him intentionally. That set up runners at first and second and one out for Renteria in a game deadlocked at 7.
Renteria then worked the count full and unloaded. His single down the left-field line scored Bill Mueller and delivered the Red Sox an 8-7 victory that took four hours and 13 minutes.
Finally, Renteria could smile. Kevin Millar, David Ortiz and others jumped into his arms, culminating an exhausting evening of baseball.
"I felt good [to get the hit] because I felt bad all game because Clement pitched a great game," said Renteria. "He deserved the win today. We make an error but we never give up. We keep playing."
That's all Renteria could do even if the second error might have been the cause of a call by second base umpire Bill Miller that could have gone a different way. The snafu in question occurred during a five-run seventh inning for the Rangers when Hank Blalock stung a grounder to Mueller. Renteria, after taking in Mueller's throw for the force, appeared to drop the ball as he was set to transfer to first. However, Miller ruled that it was a drop, meaning everybody was safe.
"I hung on to it. I saw the replay. I thought I got it. But we're human. Turn the page," said Renteria.
The one thing you can say about Renteria is that he's unflappable. This is a man who once ended Game 7 of the World Series at the age of 22 with a single in the 11th inning. That was eight years ago, and Renteria has had his share of big hits since.
It's been a while since he had one as gratifying as Tuesday's walk-off.
"Today was like my first hit in the big leagues," said Renteria. "I felt that because I felt bad the way we played defense. We had to play better. Now was not the time to give a game away. We have to keep pushing and keep winning."
Curt Schilling wound up with the win, pitching two near flawless innings of relief. He was not surprised that Renteria was the man who delivered when it counted most.
"I've seen him do that a lot. In the National League, Edgar's always been a guy who had the reputation for having very good at-bats after the seventh and eighth inning of ballgames. Tonight was no different," said Schilling. "They're in a tough spot there. Johnny's leading the league in hitting and the two guys hitting behind Edgar are MVP candidates, so maybe their hoping Gryboski gets a double play in that situation and get out of the inning. But he put together a good at-bat."
Renteria plotted his course of action and then executed with precision.
"That situation, because I know Gryboski, he always tries to throw me hard sinkers to get me to hit the ball to third base," said Renteria. "I tried to look for something up so I could drive it."
And so he did, sending everyone home after a long -- and ultimately rewarding -- night.
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