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 Little League, maybe, he said.
So the 26-year-old career minor leaguer made sure he enjoyed the
first one in the majors on Friday night.
Figueroa's one-out double as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the
ninth inning ended a marathon pitchers' duel and gave the Tampa Bay
Rays a 1-0 win over the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field.
With his shot to the gap in right-center sure to drop, Figueroa
raced to second as Desmond Jennings scored and began evasive
maneuvers from his storming teammates, who finally caught him in
shallow right field.
"I'd seen it on TV lots of times," Figueroa said of wild walk-off
celebrations. "I was like, 'That'd be pretty cool.' When I got to
second base I figured I might as well make this last."
Boston's losing streak is taking on a long-lasting feel, too. The
Red Sox' eighth consecutive loss dropped them to 20-27 and into last
place in the American League East by percentage points below the
Rays (21-28), who won their second consecutive game.
Jennings began the decisive rally with a one-out walk against
reliever Andrew Miller (1-3). Figueroa was told before the inning he
would either pinch-run for James Loney (who popped out leading off)
or pinch-hit for right-handed Sean Rodriguez if Boston brought in a
right-handed reliever to replace Miller.
"[Bench coach] Davey [Martinez] came over and said, 'If the righty
comes in, we're going to pinch-hit you, and you're going to go up
there and win the game for us'," Figueroa recalled.
He did, with a little help. Jennings stole his 11th base of the
season on a pitchout during a hit-and-run, capitalizing on high
throws from both new reliever Burke Badenhop and catcher A.J.
Pierzynski.
Down 1-2 in the count, Figueroa recalled a bit of advice from
teammate Evan Longoria that Badenhop, a former Rays reliever, often
tries to sneak a pitch inside on two-strike counts.
Figueroa, who had his first big-league hit on Thursday, then pulled
the next pitch against the ground ball specialist into the gap.
"I kind of sailed the pitch to A.J. a little bit, which didn't give
him much chance to get a good throw off," Badenhop said. "Jennings
[is a] fast guy, one of the better base stealers in the league.
Still, to come back, and I thought execute our pitch to Figueroa
there, and he hits a grenade."
Juan Carlos Oviedo picked up the win to improve to 1-0. Three Rays
relievers combined to allow one hit in three innings.
Rays manager Joe Maddon had a long talk with Figueroa in spring
training expressing his belief in his ability to play in the majors.
He has backed that up with playing time after Figueroa was recalled
following an injury to second baseman Ben Zobrist.
"I told him from the beginning, I think you're a major league
baseball player," Maddon said.
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Rays starter Chris Archer set career highs in strikeouts (11) and
pitches (119) but lasted just six innings, allowing six hits and
four walks.
The start was encouraging for Archer despite the high pitch count.
He had not lasted six innings since April 25 and had gone 4 2/3 or
less in four consecutively.
At least for one start, he also improved a 1.06 strikeout-to-walk
ratio in the last four starts.
Red Sox starter John Lackey lasted a more efficient but eventful
seven innings, working out of trouble in the sixth and seventh
innings as the Rays placed runners in scoring position with one out.
Lackey retired first baseman James Loney with the potential lead run
on third to end the sixth and shortstop Yunel Escobar and catcher
Ryan Hanigan to finish the seventh after an error by third baseman
Brock Holt began a Rays rally.
The veteran returned for the eighth but was removed after allowing a
leadoff single to designated hitter David DeJesus.
Lackey allowed five hits and a walk with three strikeouts in seven
innings plus a batter, relinquishing two runs or less for the
seventh time in nine starts. But neither he nor the Red Sox had
anything to show for it.
"Just one of those nights," Lackey said. "You can't point a finger
at one person or one area. We just need to put a ballgame together.
We played a pretty good ballgame, just came out on the wrong end."
NOTES: Red Sox DH David Ortiz broke a 0-for-17 slide with a
broken-bat, opposite-field single in the first inning, through a
gaping hole in an exaggerated shift. ... Boston has used 38
different lineups in 46 games. ... Rays 3B Evan Longoria, again
hitting out of the second spot in the order, had his first multi-hit
game in 11 games.
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reserved.]
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