BOSTON — The Red Sox will have an opportunity to sweep their weekend series with the Philadelphia Phillies after earning a convincing 9-2 win Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park.
The Sox offense tallied 10-plus hits for the second straight game, and starting pitcher Wade Miley gave one of his best performances of the season in a total team effort.
Here’s a recap of Saturday’s game.
GAME IN A WORD
Crushed.
The Red Sox hit Phillies starter Alec Asher hard and tallied eight hits and seven runs on the young right-hander. Boston also had six extra-base hits and batted 6 for 13 with runners in scoring position.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
An eight-run fourth inning, highlighted by Xander Bogaerts’ three-run double, opened up an 8-0 lead for the Sox. The Phillies don’t have the offensive firepower to erase that kind of deficit.
ON THE BUMP
— Miley cruised through the first inning in only 10 pitches. He proceeded to pitch four scoreless innings on just 49 pitches and in less than one hour of work.
Miley ran into some trouble in the fifth frame by giving up a single and a double to the first two batters. Carlos Ruiz got the Phillies on the board with a two-run single, but Miley prevented any further damage in the fifth.
He bounced back with scoreless sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings for his first complete game as a major leaguer.
His final line: two earned runs, five hits, eight strikeouts and no walks on 109 pitches over nine innings.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Mookie Betts led off the game with a hit for the second straight day. He doubled in his second at-bat, giving him three in the series so far. Betts finished 3 for 4 with a run scored.
— David Ortiz went 2 for 5 with a single and a home run. He now has 30 home runs, setting a new team record with his ninth season of 30 or more homers.
— Bogaerts went 1 for 5 with a run scored and four RBIs. He hit a three-run double in the fourth inning and scored on a remarkable slide. It’s the first time this season and second of his career that he’s tallied four RBIs in a single game.
— Blake Swihart went 2 for 4 with an RBI single in the fourth inning. He scored later in the inning.
— Jackie Bradley Jr. came up with the bases loaded in the fourth and drove in two runs with a double. He went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
— Rusney Castillo went 1 for 4. He scored on JBJ’s fourth-inning double.
— Josh Rutledge was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
— Brock Holt went 1 for 3 with a double and a run scored.
TWEET OF THE GAME
Four more to go.
[tweet https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/640273936194736128 align=”center”]
UP NEXT
These teams conclude a three-game series Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. ET. Eduardo Rodriguez (Boston) and Jerad Eickhoff (Philadelphia) are the probable starting pitchers.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images Images
