Triston Casas shows off his pregame routine at Fenway, collects first hit in Red Sox debut
BOSTON -- Triston Casas arrived at Fenway Park on Sunday ready to make his long-awaited Major League debut as the Red Sox closed out a four-game series with the Texas Rangers. The 22-year-old showed that he belonged from the second he got to the ballpark.
A shirtless Casas took the field early Sunday morning, soaking in the sights of Fenway along with some nice summer rays. He laid down in the right field grass and started doing leg exercises, which he had done ahead of every game down in Triple-A Worcester.
This was not just a rookie sunning ahead of his pro debut. There is a method to this ritual.
"I don't necessarily like caffeine. I don't drink coffee or energy drinks. I feel better after I get some sunlight on my body, and that's what I do," Casas explained after Sunday's 5-2 Boston victory. "I go out there in the grass and I don't think too much of it in terms of grounding or any science behind it. But I just feel better after I do it."
While he admitted to feeling some nerves ahead of the game, Casas looked every bit the part of a Major League first baseman on Sunday. It came at him quickly, too, with Casas fielding a pair of groundouts to end the first inning after the Rangers had plated a pair of runs.
He didn't have to wait long for his first at-bat, either. He was in the on-deck circle when Trevor Story launched a go-ahead three-run homer in the bottom of the first, and nearly sent one of his own into the stands. The big lefty sent one down the line in right field that had a chance to be one of those cheap Fenway homers, had it just been a few feet to the right. Instead, it was an F-9 after a six-pitch at-bat.
After handling a hot shot by Adolis Garcia to end the top of the third, Casas led off the bottom of the inning with a groundout to first. He logged his first career hit a few innings later, sending a jumping grounder to the left side of the infield that Texas shortstop Corey Seager couldn't handle. Though it barely left the infield, Casas said he'd take his first hit any way he could get it.
"You don't choose how they come," he said. "I'll take all of them. I know Seager is a pretty good shortstop and I don't know how that one popped up on him, but I'm going to take it. First one in the books."
Casas finished his debut 1-for-4 at the plate and handled everything that went his way in the field.
"I was definitely nervous," he said after the Boston win. "This is everything I've ever dreamed of all culminating into one day. Throughout all that, I felt prepared. I was confident and I've been working for this for a really long time so I wasn't nervous. I mean, I was nervous but I wasn't scared. I felt like I was ready for the moment. I tried my best and did what I could and we got the win."
The win capped off a four-game sweep by the Red Sox, who have now won five straight. Boston now heads to Florida for a three-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said we'll be seeing plenty of Casas the rest of the way, which will give Boston fans a glimpse of the future.
