The Boston Red Sox earned a much-needed win Wednesday afternoon.
After dropping four consecutive games, the Red Sox closed their tough West Coast road trip with a 4-0 win over the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. And they got some help from one likely and two unlikely sources.
Chris Sale was his usual dominant self on the mound, while rookie phenom Rafael Devers and catcher Sandy Leon provided the bulk of the offense, as both blasted a home run.
The Red Sox improved to 56-47, while the Mariners dropped to 51-52.
Here’s how it all went down.
GAME IN A WORD
Devers.
When your first major league hit is a home run in your second game, you tend to be one of the main stories.
IT WAS OVER WHEN
Leon hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning. With Sale on the mound, there was no way the Mariners were coming back.
ON THE BUMP
— Sale had another strong outing for Boston.
The left-hander pitched seven scoreless innings and allowed only three hits with one walk while striking out 11 Mariners. He had 1-2-3 innings in the first, fifth and seventh, and he closed his outing with back-to-back strikeouts in the seventh. He also threw 115 pitches, 75 of which were strikes.
Oh, and there’s this.
And this:
And this:
— Blaine Boyer took over in the eighth and kept the Mariners off the scoreboard, but he ran into some trouble in the ninth when he put runners on first and second with one out.
— Craig Kimbrel entered with one out in the ninth inning and secured the win.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Mitch Moreland drove in the Red Sox’s first run with a sacrifice fly in the second inning. Hanley Ramirez just beat the throw, and he came up looking injured after the slide. However, he remained in the game.
— Devers blasted a home run to deep center field in the top of the third inning to give Boston a two-run edge. And not only was that his first homer, but it also was his first Major League Baseball hit.
— Leon got in on the fun in the fourth inning with a two-run shot of his own. Jackie Bradley Jr. also scored on the homer, which increased Boston’s advantage to 4-0.
— The Sox had the bases loaded with no outs in the top of the eighth, but they couldn’t capitalize.
TWEET OF THE DAY
That’s some pretty good company.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox will have a much-needed day off Thursday before returning to Fenway Park for a three-game weekend series against the Kansas City Royals. Boston will send David Price to the hill and he will be opposed by left-hander Jason Vargas. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports Images
