Red Sox’s Alex Verdugo Blasts Game-Tying Home Run Vs. Dodgers

Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo continues to rake in the leadoff spot.

For the second straight time against the Dodgers, and third straight game overall, Verdugo launched a leadoff home run to quickly get Boston on the scoreboard. During Saturday’s matchup with Los Angeles, Verdugo took Dodgers southpaw Julio Urías deep to right field, beyond Mookie Betts’ reach into the Fenway Park bullpen.

That marked Verdugo’s 12th homer of the season and 51st RBI, and entering the critical weekend series hosting one of Major League Baseball’s best squads, the 27-year-old has been red-hot at the plate.

Verdugo has compiled a slash line of .500/.500/.833, going 12-for-24 with two home runs, two doubles and four RBIs over the course of his five previous games, hitting .333 overall in the month of August (21 games).

Red Sox manager Alex Cora acknowledged Verdugo’s recent spark following Friday night’s series-opening loss to the Dodgers, after Verdugo went 3-for-5 at the plate.

“He’s in a good place,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora explained. “… I love the fact that he’s been aggressive in that first pitch of the game. That’s something we always talk about. It’s not easy to hit down in the count and a lot of teams were going right after him. And he understands what he needs to do to give that at-bat for the team, but he can actually do that, 1-0 us and we’ll take (that) at-bat with one pitch.”