The Boston Red Sox defeated the American League All-Stars.
Maybe not technically, but the Kansas City Royals are positioned to have eight players start this year’s All-Star Game in Cincinnati. And the Red Sox, who have been all over the place this season, took down the Royals 7-3 on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.
The Red Sox have won back-to-back games, as they also defeated the Atlanta Braves 5-2 on Thursday night at Turner Field. Boston’s offense has been especially promising the last two contests.
GAME IN A WORD
Lively.
Clay Buchholz said after Thursday’s win that it was Boston’s most complete victory of the season. The Red Sox played with good energy again Friday in what also could be described as a “complete” victory.
It’s important to note we’ve seen energetic wins by these Red Sox in the past, only to be let down a short time later. A 7-3 win against the defending AL champions is nothing to sneeze at, though, especially when searching for positives amid a mostly disappointing stretch.
The Red Sox compiled 16 hits.
IT WAS OVER WHEN …
The Red Sox unloaded for five runs under the sunny skies of the second inning.
Mike Napoli kicked off the scoring with a two-run single into center field. Xander Bogaerts singled into right field, and Pablo Sandoval doubled over the center fielder’s head to set the table for Napoli.
Blake Swihart followed Alejandro De Aza’s one-out walk with a line drive over right fielder Alex Rios’ head. The rookie’s double scored both Napoli and De Aza to give Boston a 4-0 advantage.
Mookie Betts added to the scoring with an RBI single into right field.
ON THE BUMP
— Eduardo Rodriguez had an excellent bounce-back effort against a very good offense.
Rodriguez, who surrendered nine earned runs on eight hits over 4 2/3 innings while suffering his first major league loss in his last start, held down the Royals for 6 1/3 innings. The 22-year-old allowed only one run on six hits while striking out five and walking one.
Rodriguez threw 104 pitches (63 strikes). He made better use of his slider in this outing than he did in his last start.
— Alexi Ogando closed out the seventh inning after Rodriguez put two men on base.
— Robbie Ross Jr. struggled in the eighth inning. Fortunately for the Red Sox, they had a big cushion to work with by that point.
Ross allowed one run on two hits and one walk. Eric Hosmer absolutely demolished a solo homer over the center field wall against the left-hander.
— Steven Wright yielded back-to-back doubles with two outs in the ninth inning, resulting in Kansas City’s third run of the game.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Betts, batting second, led the way with four hits.
Betts has been on an absolute tear of late. He’s hitting .556 (15-for-27) over his last seven games, raising his average from .234 to .267 (the highest it’s been since Opening Day).
— Ramirez crushed a solo homer to center field in the fifth inning. He has 14 homers this season and has looked much better at the plate since the end of May.
Ramirez also sizzled an RBI single in the seventh inning as part of his two-hit effort.
— Sandoval didn’t skip a beat after being benched Thursday for using Instagram during Wednesday’s game against the Braves. He collected two hits and scored a run.
Sandoval owns a nine-game hitting streak dating to June 10. He’s hitting .458 (16-for-35) in that stretch.
— Napoli had an encouraging night at the plate, producing two hits and two RBIs. He also walked in the eighth inning after the Red Sox built a sizable lead.
— Swihart, like Napoli, had two hits and two RBIs.
— The Red Sox grounded into five double plays. Swihart and David Ortiz each grounded into two.
Ortiz was 0-for-4 until he doubled in the ninth inning. Bogaerts, who went 1-for-5, erased that threat by grounding into a twin killing.
TWEET OF THE GAME
A blessing in disguise?
[tweet https://twitter.com/ScottieNTCF/status/612060999257063424 align=’center’%5D
UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Royals will trade punches again Saturday. Rick Porcello will face Edinson Volquez in a game scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Denny Medley/USA TODAY Sports Images
