Valentine On Pedroia: 'Has A Play Every Game That Totally Amazes Me'
BOSTON (CBS) – Bobby Valentine continues to be amazed by the hard-nosed play of Dustin Pedroia.
Whether it's at the dish or in the field, the Red Sox' second baseman is always making Valentine shake his head in amazement. Monday night was no exception.
With the Red Sox holding on to an 11-6 lead in the top of the eight, the Oakland Athletics were threatening to cut into the cushion for the second straight inning. Scott Atchison loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk before striking out Coco Crisp. Franklin Morales relieved Atchison, but the A's were still threatening.
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That is until Josh Reddick delivered a line shot to a perfectly placed Pedroia at second, who then casually tagged the base and fired on to first for a difficult double play.
Inning over. Threat over.
"I mentioned before the game that he has a play every game that totally amazes me. That was Major League exceptional," Valentine said of the play, who stood at the top of the dugout and pointed to Pedroia with a blank stare of amazement after the play. "That was above what anyone could ask. He turned it at the right moment at a high degree of difficulty. I give him 10 points."
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"I was trying to get out of the inning," a humble Pedroia said after the 11-6 win, Boston's seventh in their last eight games. "They had guys on and were kind of making a run. I was just trying to do what I can to get out of it. We all were."
Monday's win got Boston back to the .500 mark for the first time this season, and most are feeling a lot better after their 4-10 start.
For Pedroia, he was always confident in his team.
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"We've always been in a good mood. You guys are the ones not in a good mood," he told the media Monday night. "We're happy; we play 162 games, you're going to have times in the season when you're not playing well and guys need to find a way to get out of it. We did that, and we just have to continue to do that."
