ANAHEIM, Calif. -- All you need to know about the Red Sox' 8-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels in quickie form, with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Red Sox continue to re-discover the long ball: A year ago, the Red Sox finished dead last in the American League in homers, prompting them to engage in a winter-long dance with J.D. Martinez before signing him in February. Martinez has done his share so far with four homers, but so has everyone else. The Sox belted two more Thursday night, giving them 11 for the three-game series and 24 in their first 18 games. That marked only the third time in franchise history that the Sox have hit more than 10 homers in a three-game series and the first time in 41 years. By contrast, through the first 18 games last season, they had managed just 11 homers.
Solid outing from Eduardo Rodriguez: Rodriguez wasn't efficient (he seldom is), needing 104 pitches to get through six innings. He also issued three walks -- all three to Andrelton Simmons, strangely -- which isn't ideal for six innings. But he allowed just three hits and only two runs to pick up his second win in three outings. His changeup was terrific all night, especially against Shohei Ohtani, whom he struck out twice. Realizing that he's a little behind everyone else, having been brought alone slowly in spring training after undergoing off-season knee surgery, Rodriguez probably has another gear or two to hit.
Sox up their game against better competition: When this series began, the Angels had a record of 13-3, eclipsed in the American League by only the Red Sox. But the Sox steamrolled them in sweeping the series, and more to the point, outscored them by a total of 27-3. For all the talk about the Sox' early season record being a by-product of a lot of games against the hapless Rays and Marlins, they've since taken two-of-three from the Yankees and taken three straight from the Angels. Both teams are considered playoff-caliber teams, but the Sox smoked both clubs, scoring 54 runs in the six games, averaging nine runs per game. "We're just keeping it fun, keeping it loose and enjoying it,'' shrugged Andrew Benintendi.
TURNING POINT
It was still a contest in the top of the sixth, with the Red Sox clinging to a one-run lead, 3-2. But then Andrew Benintendi, who had been homerless through his first 57 at-bats this season, clubbed a homer to right and the Sox were on their way. Four batters later, Rafael Devers singled home Martinez and the Sox were up three.
TWO UP
J.D Martinez: Martinez is officially, definitively hot. A night after he had a four-hit game Wednesday, Martinez kept it up Thursday, with three more hits, including two doubles, good for three RBI. He's driven in a run in seven of the last 11 games.
Rafael Devers: Devers made an error and was thrown on trying to stretch a single in the fourth, but he knocked in two more runs to extend his team-high RBI figure to 17 and is 9-for-24 with runners in scoring position this season.
ONE DOWN
Joe Kelly: Well, if we're going to nitpick...Kelly came in to get some work in the ninth, with the Sox ahead by six and needed 22 pitches to get the final three outs. He had difficulty throwing strikes (just 13 of them) even as he wound up with two strikeouts.
STATISTICICALLY SPEAKING
- The Sox hit .371 as a team in the series.
- Mookie Betts has scored 22 runs through the first 18 games
- After being limited to just two RBI through the first 12 games of the season, Mitch Moreland knocked in seven runs in the last two games.
- Before this series, the Red Sox were just 6-14 in their last 20 games at Angel Stadium