To say Mookie Betts had James Paxton’s number Friday night would be a massive understatement.
The Boston Red Sox collectively roughed up Paxton, who allowed seven runs on nine hits over just four innings of work in the New York Yankees’ 10-5 loss at Fenway Park. But no Red Sox player did more damage to the left-hander than Betts, who clobbered a home run in each of his three at-bats against the Yankees starter.
Paxton doesn’t seem to believe Betts’ trio of round-trippers was a product of taking advantage of bad pitching. The reigning American League MVP was locked in, and the veteran southpaw was forced to deal with the results.
“He just wasn’t missing,” Paxton said, per The Boston Globe. “A couple of those were pretty good pitches. I think the cutter I left up the middle for him, but the first one, that was high and inside. A fastball. Got some pretty good (velocity) on it and he hit it out.”
Good pitching often beats good hitting, but when a player like Betts is hot at the dish, that’s rarely the case.
