BOSTON — Another day, another lopsided win against the Atlanta Braves.
The Red Sox handled the Braves for the second night in a row, this time jumping out to a very early lead thanks to a second-inning grand slam off the bat of second baseman Dustin Pedroia. And starter Steven Wright’s knuckleball was nearly unhittable again, allowing the Red Sox to coast to a 9-4 win.
Here’s how Wednesday’s Red Sox-Braves matchup unfolded.
GAME IN A WORD
Beatdown.
Now, keep in mind we’re talking about the worst team in Major League Baseball, but the Red Sox continued to rain runs down on the Braves. After tagging Atlanta for 11 runs Tuesday, Boston added eight more Wednesday.
IT WAS OVER WHEN …
Pedroia hit a grand slam in the second inning.
The second inning is pretty early to call a game, but being ahead 6-1 against the Braves is pretty good insurance.
ON THE BUMP
— Wright continued to be a force on the mound for the Red Sox. The knuckleballer did struggle a bit in the second and third innings, but he held it down to minimize the damage and went on to retire all but one of the batters he faced after. He even allowed just one run after loading the bases in the third.
Wright ended the night with two runs (one earned) on three hits with eight strikeouts and three walks over seven innings.
— Tommy Layne relieved Wright in the eighth and had one blemish in the form of a leadoff solo home run to Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman. The left-hander induced a flyout, a groundout and struck out Braves second baseman Kelly Johnson to end the inning, though.
— Matt Barnes came out for the ninth inning and allowed one run. He finished with one run on two hits with a strikeout.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Needless to say, it was a great offensive night for the Red Sox. Pedroia was the star of the show, though, going 3-for-5 with two runs and five RBIs he collected on a grand slam and a solo home run.
— Mookie Betts went 1-for-3 with a run and a walk but was taken out in the seventh inning to get some rest while the Red Sox were leading. Chris Young pinch hit for Betts and went 0-for-1.
— Xander Bogaerts went 0-for-3, but he reached base on a fielder’s choice in the first inning and walked twice to collect two runs on the night.
— David Ortiz continued to be David Ortiz, going 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs.
— Hanley Ramirez and Ryan Hanigan both went 1-for-4. Ramirez added an RBI, and Hanigan added a run.
— Travis Shaw went 1-for-2 with two walks and an RBI. Jackie Bradley Jr. went 1-for-3 with a run and a walk.
— Brock Holt was the only Red Sox to not reach base, going hitless at 0-for-4.
TWEET OF THE NIGHT
Everyone (except the Braves, probably) was in a good mood at Fenway Park.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox finish their home-and-home series against the Braves on Thursday in another 7:10 p.m. ET game at Fenway. Clay Buchholz will be on the mound against Braves right-hander Jhoulys Chacin.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
