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Wilyer Abreu’s Red Sox teammate expected homer; ‘Got to be one of the best moments of his life’
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- Wilyer Abreu’s Red Sox teammate expected homer; ‘Got to be one of the best moments of his life’
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Carlos Narváez was glued to his TV at home, watching his fellow countryman and Red Sox teammate Wilyer Abreu 's sixth inning at-bat Saturday.
Abreu crushed an 87.8 mph changeup from Japan reliever Hiromi Itoh 409 feet to right field for a three-run home run. That blast put Venezuela ahead 7-5 in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals. Venezuela went on to win 8-5, advancing to the semifinals against Italy on Monday at 8 p.m.
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"I was expecting that, to be honest," Narváez said.
While watching the at-bat, Narváez said he thought that if Itoh missed his spot, "it's going to be a home run."
"He did it and he got crazy," Narváez said about Abreu. "Watching him run the bases, it was fun."
Abreu flipped his bat, then began jumping up and down and screaming.
"So happy for him," Narváez said. "That's gotta be one of the best moments of his life so far."
Narváez compared the intensity to a World Series game.
"That emotion in the moment," Narváez said.
"I bet he watched the video after the game and was like, 'Oh, (expletive). What a hit,'" Narváez added.
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Abreu told reporters in Houston that many thoughts crossed his mind while running the bases.
"It's so fast. It's a great feeling, something that I wouldn't imagine and very difficult to describe," he said. "It's a unique moment and one of the best moments that I have had in my career."
The winner of Monday's Venezuela-Italy semifinal will face the winner of the United States-Dominican Republic semifinal.
The U.S. and Dominican Republic play their game tonight at 8 p.m.
Manager Alex Cora said he was just arriving home when Abreu hit the go-ahead home run. He said he received several text messages about it.
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"Just electric," Cora said. "It's fun to see them react that way. You know, it's Little League, right, with big leaguers. And there's a lot of Venezuelan fans there. Without getting into specifics with them, it's been different the last few months. ... And they're playing for a lot."
Abreu is 5-for-17 (.294) with a .381 on-base percentage and six RBIs in five WBC games.
"That was a great swing," Cora said. "He put the good at-bat early on. He's been playing great in left field. And I know it's one of those nights that he will never forget."
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