The Boston Red Sox began their latest series on a celebratory note, riding a superb performance by Trevor Story to take down the Seattle Mariners, 12-6, on Thursday night at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox improve to 16-22 while the Mariners fall to 17-22.
Check out the full box score here:
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Trevor Story was... well, the story for Boston in the Red Sox win Thursday night, reaching base and scoring on all five of his plate appearances. The 29-year-old belted three home runs and collected seven runs batted in on the night.
Story helped the Red Sox offense get off the ground early in the contest, but the rest of Boston's lineup would eventually catch up with him, getting contributions from top to bottom. All nine batters reached base for the Red Sox, with four collecting at least one run batted in.
One day after being shunned aside due to Nick Pivetta's complete game, members of the Red Sox bullpen came up big in relief of a struggling Rich Hill. Tanner Houck and John Schreiber combined for five one-hit innings to help cool down the Mariners offense after their hot start off Hill.
In a strange moment, Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby was not allowed to leave the game after he had finished throwing warm-up pitches in advance of the sixth-inning. Instead, he was forced to face at least one more batter in Alex Verdugo, who ultimately spurned him for a double and scored the go-ahead run.
STARS OF THE GAME
-- Story's first two home runs Thursday helped get the Red Sox offense rolling. The three blasts highlighted a 4-for-4 performance where he finished with seven runs batted in, a walk, a stolen base, and five runs scored.
-- Houck had his best outing of the season Thursday, posting four innings of scoreless work. He was said to be using a new grip on his slider, one that worked heavily in his favor as he struck out six in relief of a struggling Rich Hill.
-- J.D. Martinez saw his 34 game on-base streak end Wednesday, so he started a new one Thursday. The Red Sox designated hitter finished the night with four hits, including a double in the seventh inning.
WAGER WATCH
Story supplied the majority of Boston's offense Thursday night, hitting three homers off of Seattle's pitchers. He entered the contest with +425 odds to hit a home run, according to DraftKings Sportsbook, meaning a $100 bet would have paid out $525 total. If only you got paid for each home run he hit.
ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox and Mariners play the second game of their series on Friday at Fenway Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET following an hour of pregame coverage, and you can watch it all on NESN.
