The Boston Red Sox have won three in a row for the first time in 2022, downing the Seattle Mariners 7-3 on Friday night at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox improved to 17-22 while the Mariners fell to 17-23.
Check out the full box score here:
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
It’s becoming quite the week to remember for Trevor Story, who connected on yet another home run in the Boston win. His third inning grand slam put the Red Sox in front, and they wouldn’t look back, leading all the way to the end of the ballgame. The 29-year-old brought his home run total to six while taking over the team lead in runs batted in with 27.
Michael Wacha made his return from the 15-day injured list Friday, putting forth a respectable 4.2 innings pitched, striking out three and giving up two runs. The 30-year-old had given up just one hit prior to the fifth inning, but seemed to fade quickly, giving up three hits, including a two-run home run to Abraham Toro, in the frame. That was enough for Alex Cora to go to the bullpen, who held things down the rest of the way.
Austin Davis, Jake Diekman, John Schreiber and Matt Strahm combined to allow zero earned runs in 4.1 innings of relief Friday. The Boston bullpen has come on strong since their unofficial day off due to Nick Pivetta’s complete game.
Xander Bogaerts took a nasty fall in the eight inning of Friday’s contest, colliding with Alex Verdugo in the outfield and landing on top of his own arm. He would eventually leave the game in the following half inning.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Trevor Story simply cannot stop hitting home runs. He’s up to four on the weekend, and now has 11 runs batted in over the last two nights.
— Austin Davis continued his trend of solid outings, helping cool the Mariners offense down Friday in relief of starter Michael Wacha. After the returning Wacha started to fade in the fifth inning, Davis was called on to record the final out before coming back out for a 1-2-3 sixth.
— Jackie Bradley Jr. got his first cart ride of the season, connecting on a three-run homer in the eighth inning to help cushion Boston’s lead. He’s now batting over .300 this season at Fenway Park.
WAGER WATCH
For the second night in a row, Trevor Story was cashing in tickets. Story had +330 odds to connect on a home run Friday, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. That means a $100 bet would have cashed out $430 total.
ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox and Mariners play the third game of their series on Saturday at Fenway Park. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET following an hour of pregame coverage, and you can watch it all on NESN.
