Inside The Red Sox

Alex Cora Has Message On Red Sox Rookie's Redemption Against Phillies

Somehow... the win of the year?
Jackson Roberts|
Jul 23, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez (75) hits a two-run home run against the Philadelphia Phillies in the eleventh inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Jul 23, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez (75) hits a two-run home run against the Philadelphia Phillies in the eleventh inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox looked like they were barreling toward a sweep, but they managed to pull off their best win of the year instead.

After erasing a 5-0 deficit thanks to a couple of bases-loaded walks and a Romy Gonzalez grand slam, the Red Sox went back and forth with the Philadelphia Phillies in extras until catcher Carlos Narváez decided enough was enough. His two-run home run in the 11th gave the Red Sox an exhilarating 9-8 win in the series finale.

Of all people, Narváez needed that swing. His bizarre catcher's interference on Edmundo Sosa's check-swing gave the Phillies a walk-off win on Monday night, then he was flagged for another kind of catcher's interference in the first inning on Tuesday on a straight steal of home by Bryce Harper.

According to manager Alex Cora, Narváez had earned the Red Sox's trust enough throughout the season for those calls to hardly register on the concern scale.

“He works hard and (expletive) happens in this game, right? He put good at-bats today, shooting the ball the other way for the double and then got on top of a fastball with two strikes,” Cora said, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “He’s having a great season and we trust him.”

Narváez, the 26-year-old rookie the Red Sox somehow landed in a trade with the archrival New York Yankees back in December, has been a godsend for this Boston team. He's quickly become a leader on this team, and everything he says proves he's ready for these clutch moments.

“Everything that happened in the first two days was crazy,” Narváez said. “Like I said yesterday, you’ve got to move forward. It’s 162 games. It’s a long season. We’re not going to win every game and we’re going to lose crazy ways like we did.

“We’ve got two months left and a lot of fun baseball coming. We’ve got to keep doing it.”

The Red Sox will keep leaning on Narváez throughout those two months, and if Wednesday night was any indication, they can feel confident when he steps in the batter's box.

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Jackson Roberts
JACKSON ROBERTS

Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Boston Red Sox On SI, please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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