Triston Casas offers praise to shortstop Trevor Story in a unique way
The Red Sox are just barely keeping their heads above water as they fight for the final American League wild-card. Boston picked up a huge 2-1 win over the Rays at Tropicana Field on Wednesday night.
Trevor Story sparked the Red Sox offense with a game tying homer in the sixth inning. He also provided a pivotal single in the eighth inning, followed by a stolen base and eventually scoring on a Jarren Duran single.
"We talk about the athlete," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora postgame. "We turned a nice double play, 5-6-3. [Triston] Casas did a good job at first, too. The 3-6-3. The homer, the stolen bases—that’s the player we envision. We’ve just got to keep him on the field."
Speaking of Casas, the first baseman had a double and played strong defense in the win. He also praised Story in an unexpected way while chatting with Joe Castlglione and Will Fleming on the WEEI Red Sox Postgame Show.
"Coming down to the wire, the body is a little banged up. But so is Trev," Casas said. "Going in the shower with him, weird enough, seeing him naked, seeing that scar on his shoulder fires me up. Everybody is kind of banged up right now, and him coming out and him finishing the season with us on a high note, it's really special to see. But everybody in here is grinding through something. That was what the motivation for me to get back out here. Everybody is a little banged up, and we all have to keep fighting through this together. We're the ones holding each other accountable, pushing each other every day. Making sure we know we're confident in each other and holding each other to the highest standard possible."
Story has looked like the leader missed on the field, playing a clean shortstop and helping out offensively from the bottom of the order. With only a few weeks under his belt since coming off the injured list, Story is looking more confident at the plate.
"I feel like with each day, with each week it gets better," Story told reporters. "It's exciting. I feel like I'm in a good spot in the box, just trying to hit line drives and keep it simple. Feeling pretty good. I know I need a little bit more strength to feel like my total self, but I'm happy where I'm at."
