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THE BEST RED SOX TEAM EVAH! ...
Jackie Bradley Jr breaks out in a barrage
against the Angels
June 26, 2018
... The Red Sox offense was incredible and blasted
four home runs on the night, and David Price quietly went out and
shut down the Angels lineup for the majority of the night.
Mookie Betts, of course, led off the game, and he gave his
team a lead on the first pitch he saw. John Lamb tossed Mookie a fastball up and
away, and Betts hit it into the Red Sox bullpen. It’s only his second career
opposite-field home run at Fenway. J.D. Martinez would get a double in the
inning as well, but he was ultimately stranded at second base.
In the second inning, the offense really clicked against
Lamb. That inning started with an Eduardo Núñez single, and after Rafael Devers
reached on an error both runners moved up a base on a ground out. From there,
Jackie Bradley Jr. poked a two-run double into left field to give Boston a 3-0
lead. After Betts walked, Andrew Benintendi contributed a double of his own to
make it 4-0. A few batters later, following a strikeout and an intentional walk
to Xander Bogaerts, Mitch Moreland came up with the bases loaded. He didn’t hit
it hard, but he deflected a ball off Lamb to score another run and knock the
Angels starter out of the game. After only two innings, the Red Sox had a 5-0
lead.
The offense would then continue with some dingers. In the
third, it was Bradley staying hot at the dish. The center fielder got a fastball
from reliever Deck McGuire right over the outer half of the plate and he put it
into the first row of Monster Seats. A couple innings later, Christian Vazquez
did his thing. It wasn’t a clutch homer this time as his team was already up by
five, but it was a bomb. The catcher got a first-pitch fastball right in his
wheelhouse and he destroyed it way out to left field. Martinez got involved in
the party in the sixth, because of course he did, smashing his 24th homer of the
year into the Red Sox bullpen.
While the lineup doing big things against a left-handed
starter was the biggest story of this game, Price was very good in his own
right. He struggled with control at certain points of the game and there were
some slogs, but for the most part he was dominant against an Angels lineup that
certainly has plenty of talent including the best hitter in the world.
The first two innings in particular for Price were
impressive. He retired the side in order in each of the first two frames,
requiring just 19 pitches in the process while still recording a couple of
strikeouts. He had his command on full display there.
The third is where things got really shaky for Price for
the first and really only time of the game. After a quick first out, an old
friend struck. Chris Young reminded us what he can do against lefties from time
to time, taking a bad curveball from Price and sending it over everything down
the left field line. After the homer cut Boston’s lead down to four, the Angels
would load the bases on a pair of singles and a walk. All of a sudden, Albert
Pujols was up to the plate with a chance to tie the game with one swing of the
bat. Instead, he hit a ground ball right to Devers at third base and the jam was
over.
From there, Price wouldn’t really get into any more big
jams, instead mostly cruising through the Angels lineup. In all, he tossed six
innings while allowing just the single run over that span. He allowed just five
hits and walked two while striking out seven in what continues to be a really
strong season for Price.
Heath Hembree was called upon for the seventh with an 8-1
lead in hand, and he tossed a 1-2-3 inning. Brandon Workman had the eighth after
the Red Sox added another run in the bottom of the seventh, and the righty
tossed a 1-2-3 inning of his own. Justin Haley had the ninth and finished it off
cleanly, sending the Sox home with a win.
Steven Wright was
put on the 10-day DL with left knee inflammation, and RHP reliever Justin
Haley was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket.
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