Red Sox Notes: Alex Cora Reflects On ‘Fun’ Win To Sweep Braves

BOSTON — The Red Sox swept the Atlanta Braves, earning a well-deserved 5-3 comeback win Wednesday night at Fenway Park.

Manager Alex Cora spoke on his team following the win, giving credit where it’s due.

“I think the homer by Raffy (Devers) kind of gave us life and obviously after that, two good at-bats (Triston) Casas and JT (Justin Turner) does what he’s been doing for a month and a half. It’s impressive what he’s been doing,” Cora said. “Played good defense. The fans were into it, so it was fun.”

The Red Sox skipper went on to talk about what it was like facing the Major League Baseball-best Braves, noting the “respect” he has for their clubhouse.

“We lost to Oakland two out of three a week ago, so every team is good and at this level, they can beat you. Like I said, we played well against them (Atlanta),” Cora continued. “They have a great team. We respect those guys, the way they go about it. They’re relentless.

“Hopefully we can play them again, that’s the goal here. But we got work to do, they got work to do. It’s still early in the season. I gotta give credit to those guys in that clubhouse.”

Cora looks to meet Atlanta again in the postseason, with the Red Sox just 1.5 games out of the wild card race in the American League after their fourth straight win.

Here are more notes from Wednesday’s Red Sox-Braves game:

— Turner had a great night overall, including a huge double that knocked in two runs helping secure the win for Boston.

“Positioning, that’s why we’re not too worried about it because I think we put our guys in a position that they’re gonna make plays. He works at it. My biggest worry is how he’s gonna handle it physically,” Cora explained. “I checked with him this morning and he’s like ‘I’m good to go’ and we went with our best defensive lineup and we needed each one of those at-bats.”

— Kenley Jansen recorded his 22nd save of the season, giving up just one hit in the ninth.

“Kenley (Jansen), for how slow he is, he knows when he needs to be quick to the plate and taking chances,” Cora said. “He’s been making good throws the last month and a half.”

— Alex Verdugo made a stellar catch in right field in the eighth inning, saving what could have been a two-run homer.

“He’s the best defensive right-fielder in the big leagues. I know he’s struggling offensively but defensively, he’s been great for us,” Cora said. “It’s night and day. He’s very engaged. He’s moving faster. He’s taking chances, and we’re very happy with the way he’s been playing defense.”

— Casas hit his 15th home run of the season with a solo shot in the seventh inning.

“We see the progression. He’s gonna keep doing that because he controls the strike zone. He’s not swinging at bad pitches. He’s on time with the fastball, which is the most important thing,” Cora said of the rookie. “He’s been able to beat offspeed pitches in the air. If you look at the numbers, he’s up to .250. He’s becoming one of the best offensive first basemen in the big leagues.”

— Rafael Devers also took Braves starter Spencer Strider deep, on a very low slider to get Boston on the board in the sixth inning.

“We’re amazed at the ones that he can hit and sometimes we’re in awe and we’re surprised at the ones he doesn’t hit,” Cora said.

— The Red Sox look to continue their win streak as they head on the road to face the San Francisco Giants on Friday with first pitch set for 10:15 p.m. ET from Oracle Park.