It took them until the All-Star break, but the Boston Red Sox finally are eight games over .500.
(Hooray?)
The Red Sox earned a 6-3 win over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep at Comerica Park. David Price polished off his strong first half with another impressive performance, while Boston’s resurgent offense pounded nine hits as Alex Cora’s club took its fifth win in six games.
All-Star snub Christian Vazquez clubbed his 14th homer of the season, while lefty Josh Taylor pitched two innings of impressive, scoreless relief. Tigers starter Gregory Soto lasted just two innings.
The Red Sox improved to 49-41 with the win while the Tigers dropped to 28-57 with the loss.
Here’s how it all went down:
GAME IN A WORD
Familiar.
Aside from some new faces, this was a game that felt very much like what we often saw from the 2018 Red Sox: Relentless offense, great starting pitching and solid relief.
ON THE BUMP
— Price wasn’t exactly economical (99 pitches over five innings), but he was nonethless impressive while improving to 7-2 and lowering his season ERA To 3.24.
The lefty allowed one run on four hits while striking out six and walking two. You easily could make the case that Price has been Boston’s best starter over the last year.
— Taylor took over in the sixth and, simply put, was dominant.
The lefty hurled two perfect innings, striking out four of the six batters he faced. Taylor now has a 4.15 ERA and, at the very least, is looking like a serviceable middle-inning reliever for the Red Sox.
— Ryan Brasier’s distressing first half concluded on a whimper with the right-hander allowing a two-out, two-run homer to Tigers first baseman Brandon Dixon. Brasier was lifted from the game after walking the next batter.
— Brandon Workman induced a ground ball off the bat of Niko Goodrum to end the eighth inning.
— Heath Hembree pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the save.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Vazquez (1-for-4) got the party started in the second inning, erasing a 1-0 deficit with an opposite-field, two-run homer. The Red Sox catcher now has 14 homers to go along with a .299 average and 41 RBIs.
Take a look at this blast:
— The score remained 2-1, Boston, until the fifth inning, when Xander Bogaerts drove home Marco Hernandez and Mookie Betts with a two-out double. The Boston shortstop finished 1-for-4 on the afternoon and enters the All-Star break with a .294 average to go along with 17 homers and 65 RBIs.
— After J.D. Martinez was intentionally walked, Andrew Benintendi (1-for-4) drove home Bogaerts with an RBI-single to left field.
— The Red Sox added another run in the eighth when Martinez scampered home on a wild pitch from Tigers reliever Eduardo Jimenez.
— Martinez (2-for-3) and Hernandez (2-for-4) were the only members of the lineup with multiple hits. Michael Chavis and Rafael Devers both went hitless.
TWEET OF THE GAME
Before first pitch, the Red Sox honored the United States Women’s National Team for its World Cup final win over the Netherlands.
UP NEXT
Following the All-Star break, the Red Sox will return to action Friday when they begin a three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Game 1 of the World Series rematch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET at Fenway Park.
