BOSTON — Although it would have been hard for the Red Sox to have a worse game than Friday’s contest, they certainly turned things around in Saturday’s middle game against the Seattle Mariners.
Starter Rick Porcello performed admirably, pitching through a few hiccups to keep the score close. And Boston’s offense showed up in a big way, scoring six runs, including two home runs, en route to a 6-2 win at Fenway Park.
Here’s how it all went down.
GAME IN A WORD
Grind.
Once again the Red Sox found themselves down in the early innings, but this time, Porcello only dug them into a 2-0 hole. A Jackie Bradley Jr. home run in the fourth inning cut the Mariners’ lead in half, and a three-run fifth inning provided the Red Sox some insurance.
IT WAS OVER WHEN …
Christian Vazquez gave the Red Sox some breathing room with an RBI double in the sixth inning.
The Red Sox catcher had a great day at the plate, and putting his team up 5-2 proved to be a huge help.
ON THE BUMP
— Porcello’s outing wasn’t sparkling, but he got the job done. The right-hander started off shaky, and it took him until the fourth inning to record an out before giving up a hit. Yet Porcello pitched himself out of a few jams and gave up just two runs, beginning to hold things down from the fourth inning on.
Porcello allowed two runs on eight hits with no walks and six strikeouts and surrendered one solo home run to Mariners first baseman Adam Lind over six innings of work.
— Junichi Tazawa wasn’t at his sharpest, but he only gave up one hit in a scoreless seventh inning.
— Koji Uehara played the role of setup man, and did Koji Uehara things. The reliever pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning with two strikeouts.
— Craig Kimbrel closed things out with a 1-2-3 inning.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Jackie Bradley Jr. scored the Red Sox’s first run in the fourth inning with a solo home run that he crushed to the top of the Green Monster. The center fielder went 1-for-3 with a run, an RBI and a walk.
— Xander Bogaerts continued to show off his power stroke with a solo shot in Boston’s three-run fifth, going 2-for-4 on the day. Mookie Betts also went 2-for-4 with an RBI single, and Hanley Ramirez went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.
— Catcher Christian Vazquez did his best Sandy Leon impression Saturday, going 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a run.
— Dustin Pedroia (0-for-4) went hitless for the third consecutive day. Pedroia also grounded into two double plays, which ties Albert Pujols and Jose Bautista for the most in Major League Baseball with 12.
— David Ortiz, Travis Shaw and Chris Young all went 1-for-4. Young added a run to the mix.
TWEET OF THE DAY
JBJ’s home run was crushed.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox finish out their series with the Mariners in a 1:35 p.m. ET game Sunday. Ace David Price will go head-to-head with Seattle right-hander Taijuan Walker.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
