BOSTON -- By their very nature, walk-off hits are joyous occasions in which players swarm the hero and raise coolers over their heads to douse him in celebration.\n\nBut the one on Monday night at Fenway Park was sweeter than normal for the Red Sox because that walk-off hero was
“I think it’s a great feeling going around. Walk-offs just feel different,” said
“I mean, it feels pretty good. It’s been a blessing for me being here again and helping the team win, especially right now,” said Hernandez. “We need to win as many games as we can before the All-Star break. This is a huge win for us and I think we continue to do that.”\n\nAt a time when they continue to struggle with situational hitting (3-for-12 with runners in scoring position and 11 runners left on base on Monday), the Red Sox need to scratch and claw their way to victory. At 43-37, they are eight games behind the Yankees in the American League East.\n\n“We need to play like it’s the last game of the season, bring 100 percent every single day,” said
“We keep working hard. We’ve spent a lot of time trying to get back to how we are. We have three more months to show up and put the game where we need to be.”\n\nAnd on this satisfying night, the Red Sox were able to shed some of their stress and celebrate Hernandez’s moment.\n\n“It was amazing,” said Bradley. “I had a very good feeling when Marco came to the plate. He’s gonna battle, he’s gonna have a professional at-bat and he was able to get it just out of the reach and beat it out. It was amazing, a lot of fun and it couldn’t happen to a better guy.”\n\nIt also couldn’t have happened at a better time.\n\n“It’s big,” Bradley said. “We needed it.”\n\nAs much of a grind as the season has been so far for the Red Sox, perhaps the adversity that Hernandez went through serves as a reminder that things could always be worse.\n\n“Since the first day I saw him back in the lineup I felt so happy for him because, like you say, everything he’s been through, all those injures, all those surgeries and everything just to be able to play the game, that’s something special to see,” said