The Red Sox got off to a hot start offensively, and it helped them eke out a win.
Boston scored four runs in the first two innings, riding their bullpen to a 5-3 win over the Washington Nationals at Fenway Park on Saturday.
The victory snapped a two-game losing skid and evens their three-game series against the Nationals. The Red Sox’s bullpen recorded 20 of the 27 outs in the game while benefitting from some timely defensive plays.
The Nationals left 14 runners on base. In contrast, Boston left only three on base. The Nationals also outhit the Red Sox, 11 to nine.
The Red Sox climb to 11-22 while the Nationals fall to 12-18.
Here’s how it went down:
GAME IN A WORD
Complete.
Between the early bats and the bullpen’s performance, the Red Sox put together an all-around solid win Saturday.
ON THE BUMP
— Chris Mazza fared decently through the first two innings before running into some trouble in the third. Mazza allowed four of the first six batters to reach base, giving up three runs in the process.
The right-hander was pulled with one out in the third as he concluded with three runs (all earned) on six hits and three strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings.
— Darwinzon Hernandez relieved Mazza in the third. He threw 16 pitches (10 strikes) as he struck out two of the three batters he faced. Hernandez, though, didn’t return.
— Phillips Valdez struck out the side in the fourth, allowing a leadoff single and one walk before getting out of the inning. He came back out for the fifth where he allowed one hit, but didn’t give up a run.
— Austin Brice allowed one hit of his own in 1 1/3 innings. Brice was saved by an assist from left fielder Alex Verdugo, who threw out catcher Kurt Suzuki at home plate for the final out of the fifth inning.
— Josh Osich allowed just one hit during the sixth, exiting with one strikeout and not allowing a run.
— Ryan Brasier induced a ground out to get out of the seventh. He came back out for the eighth and faced four batters (lead-off single).
— Matt Barnes was the sixth and final reliever to enter the game as he took the mound in the ninth. Barnes allowed one baserunner on a walk but picked up the save after throwing 13 of his 21 pitches for strikes.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— The Red Sox got off to a fast start scoring three runs on three hits in the first inning, highlighted by a three-run home run by Xander Bogaerts.
— Boston took a 4-0 lead on a RBI single by Jackie Bradley Jr., which plated Kevin Pillar following a leadoff triple.
— In his next at-bat, Pillar stoked a 425-foot home run to left-center field to give the Red Sox a 5-3 lead.
TWEET OF THE GAME
Verdugo can play left, Verdugo can play right. And he does both rather well.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox will return to Fenway Park on Sunday for Game 3 of the three-game series against Nationals. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m. ET.
