The Boston Red Sox started their 10-game West Coast road trip off on the right note with a 7-2 win over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night at RingCentral Coliseum.
With the win, the Red Sox inch closer to the .500 mark with a 25-27 record while the A's drop to 20-34.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Remember less than three weeks ago when Nathan Eovaldi allowed five home runs in one inning to the Houston Astros? Turns out, that's a complete outlier of a performance for the Red Sox ace, who has been terrific since that outing.
Eovaldi, who tossed his first career complete game versus the Orioles in his last time on the mound, was dealing again against the Athletics, using his full array of pitches and not just his blazing fastball to get swings and misses. For Eovaldi, he now has recorded at least six strikeouts in four out of his last five starts, including fanning 11 batters when he faced the Seattle Mariners.
By blanking the Athletics, Eovaldi hasn't allowed a run for 10 straight innings dating back to his showing against the Orioles, according to MassLive's Christopher Smith.
Eovaldi deserves a ton of credit for quickly putting his dismal way out of view. He's been nothing short of excellent recently, and that's obviously a huge plus for the Red Sox.
STARS OF THE GAME
-- Eovaldi ended up throwing 93 pitches in six innings of work while mowing down the A's lineup. The hard-throwing right-hander allowed just four hits and no runs while striking out eight and walking one.
-- Trevor Story provided a big hit in the top of the sixth inning. Story hit a two-run double off the left-field wall to give Boston a 4-0 lead. He finished 2-for-3 at the plate and also had a stolen base.
-- Xander Bogaerts was the man of the hour as he set the Red Sox record for most games played at shortstop in franchise history. He celebrated by launching a solo home run to left-center to open up the scoring in the fourth inning. Bogaerts, who finished 2-for-5 with three RBI, added to his night with a scorching two-run double down the left-field line in the ninth.
WAGER WATCH
Bettors could have cashed in on Bogaerts' sixth-round tripper of the season. Bogaerts had +400 odds, according to DraftKings Sportsbook, coming into the game to hit a home run, so a $100 bet would have resulted in a total pay out of $500.
ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox will continue their three-game series with the A's on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 4:07 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage on NESN.
