This story appears in ESPN The Magazines Sept. 19 NFL Preview II Issue. Subscribe today!FORGET JACKIE BRADLEY JR.S breakout, Xander Bogaerts hitting streak or David Ortizs yearlong lovefest: Mookie Betts, the Red Soxs 23-year-old outfielder, is the teams most indispensable player, and a legitimate MVP candidate.Betts is among the AL leaders in runs, hits and RBIs, but you could argue that his biggest strength has been coming through in the clutch. Betts has five of the Soxs top 16 games in win probability added (WPA), a measure of how much one player affects his teams chances to win. Here are the stories behind some of his best games.1 DOWN WITH THE BIRDS AUG. 16 AT BALTIMORE RED SOX 5, ORIOLES 3 BETTS WPA: 0.505THE SCENE Let it be said, with little hyperbole, that Betts defeated the Orioles single-handedly. Batting cleanup, he broke a scoreless stalemate in the fifth inning with a two-out, three-run homer off Baltimore starter Yovani Gallardo. And after the Orioles rallied to tie the score in the bottom of the seventh, Betts bashed a two-run homer in the next inning against setup man Brad Brach, against whom right-handed hitters had been 8-for-102 (.078). Betts drove in all five Red Sox runs. About the only thing he didnt do was pitch.BETTS TAKE I knew it was going to be tough [facing Brach]. I tried to swing early and be aggressive, because I know hes going to be in the zone. Once you get two strikes, its pretty much over at that point with him. ... Batting cleanup can be tough, but I was just trying to put a good swing on a good pitch, trying to drive the ball like I always do, with my same approach. [Being a power hitter] is definitely weird. Ive never been that in my life. Im just going to try to enjoy it while its here.2 HOUSTON HAS A PROBLEM MAY 15 AT BOSTON RED SOX 10, ASTROS 9 BETTS WPA: 0.330THE SCENE By the time Betts stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, this game had seen three lead changes. The Red Sox had just watched an 8-6 edge disappear after the Astros three-run rally in the top of the sixth. After Ryan Hanigan tied the score with a two-out single off Houston right-hander Scott Feldman, Betts fell behind in the count 0-2. No worries. He laid off two pitches, then lined a sinker to the gap in right-center field for a go-ahead triple.BETTS TAKE From the outside, [games like these, when the entire offense clicks] look ridiculous, but from the inside, theyre just the product of us grinding out at-bats and grinding through games. It was a tough day, man. The wind blowing, the sun there, it made it that much tougher. Fortunately, we were able to get an extra out [on Hanigans hit] and take advantage of it.3 RANGE FACTOR JUNE 24 AT TEXAS RED SOX 8, RANGERS 7 BETTS WPA: 0.329THE SCENE Good luck finding a more improbable Red Sox victory. Trailing 7-4 in the top of the ninth, the Sox got two quick outs, then proceeded to score four runs. After Sandy Leon worked an 11-pitch at-bat for an RBI double, the Rangers called on hard-throwing righty Matt Bush. Betts passed on a couple of sliders in anticipation of high heat. Sure enough, he got a belt-high 97 mph fastball and crushed it to the center-field berm. Three batters later, Dustin Pedroia scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.BETTS TAKE There are three righties behind Sandy, so I know [Bush] is coming in, and I kind of prepared for that. Seeing velocity doesnt change anything. Its all got to come across the plate at some point. Thats my mindset. In the AL East, you see it every day. A lot of times, you see it from the starter for the whole game. That ball was one of the ones I figured was going to go out. If it didnt, I would have probably cried.4 BRINGING THE RAIN AUG. 1 AT SEATTLE RED SOX 2, MARINERS 1 BETTS WPA: 0.328 THE SCENE It doesnt get much more clutch than a leadoff homer in the ninth inning of a tie game. Betts longball was off a hanging sinker from Mariners reliever Steve Cishek, all the way into the left-field bullpen. It was also one of the hardest balls Betts hit all season, with an exit velocity of 103.54 mph, according to Statcast.BETTS TAKE I was just going up there knowing [Cishek] is a tough at-bat. Any sidearm guy is going to be tough. I was just trying to get a fastball up so I could at least put it in play. I know anything down, Im going to beat into the ground, so just got something elevated and put a good swing on it.5?TWO BIRDS, THREE HOMERS MAY 31 AT BALTIMORE RED SOX 6, ORIOLES 2 BETTS WPA: 0.325THE SCENE Talk about doing it all. Betts led off the game with a homer to straightaway center field, then added a three-run shot to left in the second inning. In the seventh, just for good measure, Betts capped his first three-homer game by going to right field for a solo shot against reliever Dylan Bundy. (His diving catch to steal a hit from Paul Janish in the bottom of that inning was just a bonus.)BETTS TAKE I think I surprised myself, definitely, with the center-field and the right-field ones. [Pulling the ball to] left field is my forte. First time Ive ever done that, three home runs. I was able to make a play behind [pitcher] Robbie Ross, too, so, you know, put the whole game together. Thats why, I think, it ranks among my best games.Stats courtesy Baseball-Reference.com; through Sept. 6. Wyatt Teller Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Tyrel Dodson Jersey . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. http://www.wholesalebillsjerseys.com/?tag=youth-victor-bolden-jr-jersey . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. Bruce Smith Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Cam Phillips Jersey . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. BALTIMORE -- Dallas Keuchel gave the Houston Astros the kind of performance they expect each time the left-hander takes the mound.While the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner has struggled through parts of the season, the confidence of his manager and teammates never wavered. Now, Keuchel might be coming around at the perfect time for his team.Keuchel was solid through eight innings, Yulieski Gurriel got a hit in his major league debut and the Astros beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-3 in a rain-delayed victory Sunday.The Astros won the last three games in the four-game series, outscoring Baltimore 32-13 over that stretch. The slumping Orioles have lost four of five and are 9-16 over their past 25 games.Best fastball command I have had all year, Keuchel said. That really jump-started a lot of things for me. We have to play our game and not try to do too much. Any time you win a series in the big leagues is big.Keuchel (8-12) allowed two runs and five hits with seven strikeouts. Ken Giles picked up his third save despite allowing Mark Trumbo to hit his major league-leading 37th home run.The start of the game was delayed for 4 hours, 5 minutes because of storms. Another downpour at the end of the first inning prompted an additional 30-minute interruption.Im absolutely thrilled to leave her winning three out of four on one of the toughest days to play in awhile, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. We were here all day. The conditions werent the easiest to play in both mentally and physically. We stepped up and answered the challenge.Gurriel, a Cuban defector who signed a $47.5 million, five-year deal in July, singled in his first at-bat and went 1 for 2 with a walk as the designated hitter. He left the game in the eighth with right hamstring tightness and is day-to-day.I wasnt sure I was going to get my first hit that fast, Gurriel said. I will take care of (the ball) and put it away and put in a place that is very special.Carlos Correa went 2 for 3 with two RBI.After missing the past two games with a groin issue, Jake Marisnick entered in the seventh, and his home run an inning later gave the Astros a 5-2 lead.ddddddddddddJonathan Schoop got his 19th homer for the Orioles, who trail first-place Toronto by 2 1/2 games in the AL East.We know we can score a lot of runs, Schoop said. But its baseball, sometimes you score and sometimes you dont score.Houston took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on a two-out RBI single by A.J. Reed. Schoop tied it later in the inning with his solo shot.Houston put together a three-run fifth on an RBI single by Jose Altuve and a two-run double by Correa. Baltimore pulled within 4-2 later that inning when Nolan Reimold doubled and scored on a single by Adam Jones.Baltimores Yovani Gallardo (4-5) allowed four runs and seven hits over a season-tying high seven innings. Houston won the season series over Baltimore 6-1.We have to worry about our job, go out there and give our team the chance to win and just come together like we were doing throughout the year, Gallardo said.SPRING IN HIS STEPThe Astros George Springer has reached base safely in 14 straight games. He is batting .357 over that span.TRAINERS ROOMOrioles: RHP Chris Tillman, who had his start pushed back three days because of shoulder soreness, said he felt fine after Saturdays game when he allowed six runs, six