All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 7-5 win over the Royals, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
J.D. Martinez scratched, Mookie Betts exits: Not exactly the best news on the injury front when Martinez was scratched before the game because of back tightness. “It’s been acting up, a little bit tight,” Alex Cora said. “This morning he felt it, got treatment, so we’re going to stay away from him.” Christian Vázquez was moved into the DH spot and batted sixth. Andrew Benintendi was slotted fourth in the order and produced a two-run double that was the difference in the game. Betts left the game in the eighth inning after fouling a ball off his foot. Cora said he didn't look good on the bases. “Precautionary,” he said. “I just saw him down there and he should be okay for tomorrow.”
Porcello has a strong start, bullpen tries to blow it: Rick Porcello, who had a 9.35 ERA in his previous seven starts, pitched six innings of four-hit ball and just allowed a solo home run in the sixth inning to leave with a 7-1 advantage. "Everything starts with them,” Cora said of the starters. "Today was a good beginning." From there, it got interesting. Nathan Eovaldi allowed his own bomb on an 0-2 pitch. Matt Barnes allowed the first two runners to reach before retiring the next two ... but allowed a three-run bomb to make it 7-5. Brandon Workman came on to finish the game, but allowed a one-out double. He retired the final two batters, including the last one with a very high strike to close it out.
https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1158562829584293890
Hammering at home: Sam Travis and Rafael Devers both went deep for the Sox. They have homered in each of their last 18 games at Fenway Park, the Sox' longest streak in park history. Travis gave the Sox a 3-0 lead in the third inning. Devers hit his 23rd in the fifth to make it 4-0.
TURNING POINT
Andrew Benintendi's two-run double. Loved the hit and, especially, loved Xander Bogaerts hustling around the bases, blowing through a stop sign and scoring a very important run.
https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1158551846325239808
TWO UP
Rafael Devers: Went 2-for-4 and homered for the second time in his last three games. He's the first Red Sox with 23-plus homers in a single season at the age of 22 or younger since Tony Conigliaro (28) and George Scott (27) both did so in 1966.
Andrew Benintendi: Had two doubles and two RBI and is batting .344 (32-for-93) with RISP this season (1-for-2 tonight). He's hit .415 with nine doubles, five homers and 17 RBI.
TWO DOWN
Christian Vazquez: Got the late call to DH for Martinez and his performance was forgettable. He was hitless in four at-bats with three whiffs.
Matt Barnes: Three-run bomb to Bubba Starling in the eighth made it 7-5 and got things really tight at Fenway.
QUOTE OF NOTE
“We need to stop the bleeding and turn things around. So it was nice to be able to go out there and have a positive start and contribute to a win." — Porcello.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Red Sox recorded 10-plus hits in their eighth consecutive home game, their longest streak since 2016;
- The Red Sox are 31-11 (.738) when they receive a quality start this season, including 14-1 in their last 15.
- Workman converted his sixth save, tossing his fourth straight scoreless appearance: 43 of his 51 appearances have been scoreless.
- Michael Chavis (2-for-3 recorded multiple hits for the second straight game. He leads AL rookies with 29 multi-hit games.