All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 6-3 win over the Phils, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Vazquez leads the way: On Saturday night, Christian Vazquez had a run-scoring double and a single to pace the ninth-inning rally. But he outdid himself Sunday with a series of firsts. He hit his first career grand slam in the third inning, and then, notching the first multi-homer game of his career, added a second shot -- this one with the bases empty -- in the sixth inning. In the two-game sweep of the Phillies, the Red Sox scored a total of eight runs and Vazquez knocked in six of them. This has been, by far, the best offensive season of Vazquez's career, and it comes a year after a highly disappointing season at the plate in 2018. This weekend, he proved to be their most important bat.
Porcello turns it around: In his last two starts, Rick Porcello gave up a total of 12 runs. But on Sunday, he was much more effective, allowing two runs over five innings and it wasn't hard to pinpoint the reason for the improvement. Fastball command has been an issue for Porcello for large chunks of the season, but Sunday, he was much better in that regard. "I think that was his best fastball since Minnesota (in June),'' said Alex Cora. "Today, it was the two-seamer, but you could see some bad swings on his fastball.'' Porcello also consistently stayed ahead of hitters and walked just one. One of the two runs against him came on a homer -- another issue -- but at least it came with the bases empty.
Red Sox' turn to play spoiler: Last month, when the Red Sox were still entertaining thought of the American League wild card spot, the Phillies came into Fenway before the Red Sox' long West Coast road trip and won two close games, dealing a critical blow to Boston's playoff hopes. This time, it was the Red Sox' turn to return the favor. The Phillies were three games out of the second wild card spot when the weekend began, but the Sox did big damage by taking both games and pushed the Phils 4.5 games out with less than two weeks to play and several teams ahead of them in the standings to overcome. "It was a good one,'' said Cora of the series. "We played clean baseball. We controlled the strike zone (better). It was good overall.''
TURNING POINT: With the game tied 1-1 the third, Vazquez came to the plate and drove a pitch from Jason Vargus just over the wall in left, clearing the bases and giving the Red Sox a 5-1 lead. The Phillies never came close again.
ONE UP:
Andrew Benintendi: Returning to the leadoff spot for the first time since the end of May, Benintendi managed to get on base three times two singles and a hit-by-pitch, scoring two of the Red Sox' six runs.
ONE DOWN
Sam Travis: Getting a start in left field, Travis was hitless in four at-bats and is now 0-for-21 as the season winds down.
QUOTE OF NOTE:
"We were able to attack guys, get ahead and punch some guys out, so it was good.'' Rick Porcello.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
- Christian Vazquez became the seventh Red Sox catcher to hit 20 homers in a season.
- Porcello improved to 2-1 lifetime in Citizen Bank Ballpark.
- The sweep snapped a stretch that saw the Red Sox lose three straight series.