BOSTON — Joe Kelly continued his winning ways for the Boston Red Sox in their 7-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night at Fenway Park.
Kelly earned his seventh consecutive win, allowing two earned runs over six innings. He didn’t have his best stuff, but the veteran right-hander made enough quality pitches to limit run-scoring opportunities.
Here’s a recap of Red Sox-Phillies.
GAME IN A WORD
Defense.
In the outfield, specifically. In the fifth inning, both Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. chased down line drives for outs, and then Rusney Castillo closed fast on another hard hit ball, turned, and made a strong throw to cut down Odubel Herrera at second base.
Overall, the defense from these three outfielders was spectacular.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
The Red Sox added four insurance runs in the seventh inning to open up a 7-2 lead. Bradley’s seventh home run of the season was the highlight of the inning.
The Phillies offense, the third-lowest scoring unit in the National League, wasn’t going to make up that much ground.
ON THEÂ BUMP
— Kelly opened with a scoreless first inning. He picked off a runner at first base and struck out Aaron Altherr to end the frame. Kelly tossed a perfect second inning and a scoreless third before running into a little trouble in the fourth.
A hit-by-pitch and a single led to the Phillies having runners on second and third with one out. Darnell Sweeney hit an RBI groundout and Darin Ruf hit an infield single to drive in another run, giving Philly a 2-1 lead. The Phillies threatened further with another walk and a stolen base to put runners on the corners, but Kelly struck out Cameron Rupp to end the inning.
He pitched scoreless fifth and sixth innings to conclude his outing. His defense helped him in the sixth with an inning-ending double play.
Kelly’s final line: six innings, five hits, two earned runs, five strikeouts, three walks. He threw 106 pitches. It’s the sixth straight start in which he’s allowed two earned runs or fewer.
— Alexi Ogando came on in relief to start the seventh inning. He gave up one hit and allowed another baserunner on a hit-by-pitch. He lasted 1/3 of an inning before Tommy Layne replaced him.
Layne struck out Herrera. That was the only batter he’d face as Noe Ramirez entered the game right after. Ramirez struck out Cesar Hernandez to preserve Boston’s 3-2 lead.
— Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless eighth inning. He gave up a leadoff single, then struck out the next three batters.
— Jean Machi struggled mightily in the ninth inning. He gave up four hits and three earned runs, including a two-run homer to Herrera. He pitched 2/3 of an inning. Robbie Ross Jr. struck out Ryan Howard to end the game.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— The Sox totaled 10 hits, four of which went for extra bases.
— Betts extended his hit streak to 10 games with a leadoff double. He later scored on a single by Xander Bogaerts. Betts also hit an RBI double in the fifth inning and finished 2 for 3 with a walk and a run. He has 15 hits and eight runs scored during his hit streak.
— Bogaerts went 2 for 4, including an RBI single in the first inning.
— Brock Holt went 2 for 3 with two singles. He drove in Castillo in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly that gave Boston a 3-2 lead.
— Ryan Hanigan went 1 for 4 with a run scored.
— Bradley went 1 for 2 with a solo home run, a walk and two runs scored.
— Travis Shaw was 1 for 4 with a single.
— David Ortiz went 1 for 4 with an RBI double in the seventh inning. His streak of back-to-back seasons with a home run on Sept. 4 came to an end. He’s actually hit a home run on this date eight times in his career.
— Allen Craig and Castillo were the only Sox starters without a hit.
TWEET OF THE GAME
Another good game from Mookie.
[tweet https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/639965177287340032 align=”center:]
UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Phillies meet again Saturday afternoon at 4:05 p.m. ET. Wade Miley (Boston) and Alec Asher (Philadelphia) are the probable starters.
Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
