The Boston Red Sox had no issues dispatching the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night, earning a 10-1 win at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox, who have now won 11 out of their last 13 games, improve to 34-29 while the Athletics own the worst record in the MLB at 21-43.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Sure the home runs are nice, as the Red Sox hit two in the win, but the patient approach at the plate by Boston’s offense is paying dividends.
The Red Sox made Oakland starter James Kaprielian labor through his outing as the right-hander issued an eye-popping six walks. Boston chased Karpielian from the contest after 3 2/3 innings. In total, the Red Sox registered seven walks to go along with 13 hits.
Having a good eye at the plate allowed the Red Sox to routinely put men on base and put a strain on the Athletics pitchers. Boston scored a run in six out of eight innings in which it had at-bats.
In past years, the Red Sox offense is at their best when they couple solid plate discipline with the long ball, and they certainly followed that formula to keep on winning.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Alex Verdugo put any offensive scuffles he was experiencing behind him with a terrific performance. Verdugo went 3-for-5, including belting a two-run home run to snap a long homerless drought, to go along with four runs batted in.
— Rafael Devers’ home-run swing didn’t take a night off. Devers crushed his 16th homer on the season, a two-run shot, in the bottom of the second and now has homered in four consecutive games. Devers finished 1-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored.
— Josh Winckowski picked up his first career major league win. Winckowksi, who was called up from Triple-A Worcester to fill a spot in the rotation, tossed five scoreless innings, scattering four hits while striking out three and walking one. He threw 52 of his 79 pitches for strikes.
WAGER WATCH
Coming into Wednesday’s matchup, Verdugo had notched only one RBI over the last eight games. DraftKings Sportsbook set odds for Verdugo to record an RBI at +160, and the Red Sox outfielder took care of that with a fielder’s choice to plate Devers in the bottom of the first.
Verdugo later added an RBI single in the third and the aforementioned home run, and placing $100 on that prop bet would have netted a total payout of $260.
ON DECK AT NESN
It’s a quick turnaround as the Red Sox and Athletics are back at Fenway Park for a day game Thursday to close out their three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
