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MIKE NAPOLI |
Mike Napoli's monster home run
powers the Red Sox past KC
July 19, 2014 ...
A
majestic home run from a veteran slugger. Another strong outing from
a young and promising starter. And some stingy work by the bullpen.
That's what took place at Fenway Park, giving further proof that the
Red Sox might at last be putting together that run everyone has been
waiting for.
Backed by
Rubby De La Rosa's
latest dominant performance at home, and a moon shot by
Mike Napoli, Boston edged
the Royals, 2-1. Though they still have a lot of climbing to do in the
standings, the Red Sox have won six of their last seven.
De La Rosa
(3-2, 2.64 ERA) turned in yet another strong performance, holding the Royals to
five hits and a run over seven innings. De La Rosa walked four, but he minimized
the damage. At Fenway, De La Rosa is 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA.
With the
game tied at 1 in the sixth, Napoli worked a 3-1 count against
Danny Duffy
and mauled a slot shot over the light tower above the Monster. It was the 11th
homer of the season for Napoli, who still might have his best power stretch of
the season in front of him.
When the Red
Sox made a miscue behind De La Rosa in the fourth, a popup that Gomes and Holt
converged on, only to have Gomes drop it, but the righty didn't get frazzled.
Instead, he got out of the inning unscathed.
The Red Sox
got something going in the fourth when Napoli blooped a one-out single to center
and Gomes followed with a walk. Then, a break, as Victorino spun a grounder that
went right through shortstop
Alcides Escobar for an
error. Napoli raced around third for the tying run.
Next time,
Napoli could trot around the bases. Perhaps if Duffy could do it over again, he
would have worked around Napoli on the 3-1 pitch.
Koji Uehara
applied the finishing touches on this one, firing an 11-pitch ninth for his 20th
save. In his return to the lineup,
Shane Victorino went
1-for-3. |
