The Red Sox held the Philadelphia Phillies scoreless after the first inning, but by then, the damage had been done. The three runs scored by the Phils were enough for them to hold off the Sox, 3-2, snapping Boston's five-game winning streak.
The Sox got a two-run homer from Jackie Bradley Jr. in the third, but were otherwise 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Starter Brian Johnson allowed four hits and a walk in the first before settling down and going 3.2 innings. The Red Sox' bullpen took it from there, turning in 5.2 innings of scoreless relief, including a stretch in which they retired 15 in a row.
WHO: Red Sox (67-59) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (64-60)
WHEN: 7:10 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Brian Johnson (1-1, 6.45) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (11-3, 3.56)
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI 93.7 FM
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
10:26 Rare - but extremely costly -- baserunning error by Xander Bogaerts, who attempts to advance from second to third on a ball hit to short and is easily cut down at third.
10:02 For the third time in the last four innings, the Red Sox leave a baserunner stranded. They're 0-for-7 with RISP tonight.
9:55 Just five hits for the Sox tonight and Bradley has two of them.
9:45 Nola's line tonight -- 7/4/2/2/1/7 -- is remarkably similar to the start he threw at Fenway last July 30: 8/4/1/1/1/6.
9:34 Red Sox have done very little against Nola, who's set down 15 of the last 17. At 104 pitches, that's likely it for him. Red Sox have to hope they're more successful against the Phils' bullpen.
9:14 Sox blow a big chance to tie. A leadoff single by Mookie Betts and a stolen base give the Sox a baserunner in scoring position with no out, but he's stranded when Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez go down in order.
8:15 Johnson is done after 3.2 IP. Remarkably, that's his second-longest start of the season.
8:08 That's the hardest-hit ball by Jackie Bradley Jr. in a while -- he smoked a first-pitch fastball and hit into the Red Sox bullpen for a two-run homer.
8:01 After a very rough first inning (one walk, four hits, three runs), Johnson has settled in nicely and has retired six of the last eight hitters he's faced.
7:19 Brian Johnson being hit around early, with two hard-hit doubles to left and center.
LINEUPS:
RED SOX
Betts RF
Devers 3B
Bogaerts SS
Martinez DH
Benintendi LF
Vazquez C
Moreland 1B
Holt 2B
Bradley CF
PHILLIES
Hoskins DH
Realmuto 1B
Harper RF
Segura SS
Dickerson LF
Kingery 3B
Hernandez 2b
Haseley CF
Knapp C
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox have won five straight, the longest active winning streak in baseball...Their longest winning streak this season is six games...In the current five-game winning streak, the Sox' bullpen has allowed just two earned runs in the last 21.1 innings (0.84 ERA) and have held opposing hitters to a .466 OPS...They haven't allowed a homer to the last 83 batters faced...Since July 24, nearly a month ago, the Sox have the second-best bullpen ERA in MLB at 2.93, behind only Tampa Bay (2.79)….The Sox have homered at least once in the last 11 games, and in 23 of the last 24 and 44 of the last 48 games....During that 48-game run, the Sox have hit a total of 87 homers....Boston leads MLB in batting average (.277) and doubles (285) and are second in runs (735), OBP (.347) and extra-base hits (506)...They're fourth in slugging (.481) and OPS (.828)…..Dating back to 2004, the Red Sox are 9-1-2 in their last 12 series against the Phillies...They're 33-15 in that span, including 9-3 in the last 12 meetings...Boston is 13-3 in the last 16 home games with the Phils and 6-1 in the last seven...In interleague series this season, the Sox are 0-2-1 after going 10-0-3 in their previous 13...Over the last 19 games, starting July 31, the Sox have committed just five errors, the fewest total of any team in that span...In his current eight-game hitting streak, Rafael Devers is hitting .541 (20-for-37) with 12 extra-base hits and 14 RBI...He leads the majors in hits (167), doubles (46), RBI (101) extra-base hits (76) and total bases (300)….Devers is the fourth-youngest player to reach 100 RBI faster than anyone else in a season. He trails only Joe DiMaggio (1937), Johnny Bench (1970) and Jose Canseco (1986)….Mookie Betts has a five-game hitting streak...He's on pace for 147 runs....Xander Bogaerts has hit in seven straight with seven RBI in that span....Jackie Bradley Jr. has two homers in the last five games...Andrew Benintendi is hitless in his last seven at-bats....Brock Holt has hit in three straight games....Over his last 26 games, J.D. Martinez has knocked in 24 runs.....Mitch Moreland is hitting .385 with six RBI.....In five starts this season, Brian Johnson has a 3.86 ERA....Martinez is 1-for-6 with four strikeouts against Aaron Nola.
PRE-GAME NOTES:
- David Price threw another bullpen Tuesday afternoon and threw his secondary pitches. He's been on the IL for the past two weeks with a cyst in his right wrist. The Sox will wait until Wednesday to see how he responds, but remain hopeful that he can start Sunday in San Diego.