The Boston Red Sox won the rubber match against the Chicago White Sox in convincing fashion on Thursday at Guaranteed Rate Field by a final score of 16-7.
The offense was relentless, resulting in 19 hits and five walks. Boston scored in six of the nine frames with five multi-run innings. That said, Red Sox manager Alex Cora is already on to the next series.
“We hit the ball hard today, the whole night,” Cora said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “A good effort offensively and you know we won the series and now we move on.”
While the results weren’t there on Wednesday — a 3-1 loss tucked between two wins in which the Red Sox scored 16 runs both times — he believes they stuck to the process and were not as streaky as the box scores indicate.
“I think yesterday we did an outstanding job staying in the zone,” Cora said. “We walked seven times and had to grind the whole game. We were just one swing away from tying the game or scoring more runs.
“Like I said yesterday, we feel really good where we are at offensively and we did a great job against a good pitching staff and now we gotta get ready for the (Baltimore) Orioles.”
It was interesting to note Cora’s postgame focus. Like Bill Belichick, it appeared as if the Red Sox skipper turned the page immediately and is hungry for more wins. He also noted before the game that his first goal each year is to get to 10 wins over .500 as fast as possible.
Here are some more notes from Red Sox-White Sox:
— Matt Barnes’ velocity has been back up to 95-96 mph the last few outings. His control has not followed, as he walked four consecutive batters and threw a wild pitch in the process in the eighth inning. Only nine of his 27 pitches were strikes.
What made him elite early in 2021 was his ability to go right after hitters with first-pitch strikes. He recorded just one out, a strikeout of White Sox outfielder A.J. Pollock to lead off the inning. Still, he’s trending in the right direction despite the poor outing Thursday. It’s a lot easier to get a release point back than it is to regain velocity. Barnes is over his biggest hurdle.
— John Schreiber calmed things down in the fifth, tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of Michael Wacha. He’s now pitched 12 scoreless innings for Boston with 13 strikeouts and no walks allowed. The right-hander also recorded the win, and is 2-0 on the year.
— The Red Sox scored 33 runs on 45 hits in the three-game series.
— All nine starters in the Red Sox lineup recorded a hit and all 11 batters, which includes pinch-hitters, reached base.
— Boston batted around in the eighth inning, scoring five runs.
— J.D. Martinez has an MLB best .380 batting average after a 3-for-5 night with a walk and three runs.
— Chris Sale has a 25-pitch bullpen scheduled for Friday according to NESN’s Jahmai Webster.
— The Red Sox will begin a five-game series against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday at Fenway Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET on Apple TV+. The Red Sox will return to NESN on Saturday where the first game of a doubleheader is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. following an hour of pregame coverage.
