Fresh off some late-inning drama the night before, the Red Sox made this one a laugher with no ninth-inning heroics necessary, thumping the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-3, for their third straight win. The victory moved them to 10 games over .500 for the first time this season.
The Sox got homers from newcomer Danny Santana and Rafael Devers, along with a three-run double by Christian Vazquez. Every position player in the starting lineup except Marwin Gonzalez had at least one hit for the Sox.
Martin Perez picked up his second win with six innings, during which he allowed three runs on five hits.
WHO: Red Sox (27-18) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (22-22)
WHEN: 7:05 p.m.
WHERE: Citizens Bank Ballpark
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Martin Perez (1-2, 3.40) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (3-3, 3.64)
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI 93.7 FM
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Santana 1B
Verdugo CF
Martinez LF
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Vazquez C
Renfroe RF
Gonzalez 2b
Perez P
PHILLIES
McCutchen LF
Segura 2B
Harper RF
Hoskins 1B
Bohm 3B
Herrera CF
Knapp C
Torreyes SS
Nola P
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
T9: Christian Vazquez credited with a bases-clearing double, though Bryce Harper helped by badly misplaying a catchable ball in the RF corner. Sox lead is now eight runs.
T7: Using only his wrists and quick hands, Devers lines a bullet into the seats in RF, tying Martinez for the team's home run lead with 12.
B6: Fourth time in the last five starts that Perez has pitched into the sixth inning.
T6: Run-scoring single to left from Hunter Renfroe, who knocks in his 12th run of the month, then takes second as McCutchen bobbles the ball.
T6: Christian Vazquez, who hit his first homer in six weeks earlier this week, almost gets another one, but like Devers a few innings ago, falls a few inches shy in left field.
T5: Phillies kick it around and help the Sox. Run-scoring single from Bogaerts, but a wild throw by Alec Bohm, off the glove of Jean Segura. scoring Martinez and allowing Bogaerts to take third.
T5: Quite a debut for Danny Santana, who lines a shot into right field in his first game with the Sox, putting his new team up by a run.
B3: Perez knew it right away -- he never turned around to track the flight of the ball hit by Jean Segura. No need. Deep into the CF bleachers on a low changeup, with Andrew McCutchen aboard. It's 2-2.
T3: Verdugo is locked in at the plate and quick to the ball. Both times, he's gone right back up the middle for base hits and that one nearly drilled Nola.
B2: Bogaerts, shifted over on a lefty hitter, makes a diving stop and new first baseman Danny Santana does a nice stretch to nab the throw.
B1: Strong first inning by Martin Perez, who mixes his changeup, cutter and two-seamer to retire the Phils in order on just 14 pitches -- with two strikeouts.
T1: Rafael Devers goes down for a curveball on the outer half and swats it off the top of the left field fence, scoring J.D. Martinez. Two runs quickly off a tough starter, Aaron Nola.
T1: Not very hard hit by Xander Bogaerts, but his Baltimore chop to the right side is enough to score Alex Verdugo from third base.
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox have won five of their last seven games, including their last two...At 27-18 (.600), the Red Sox rank second in the AL and fourth in the majors in winning percentage. The Sox are nine games above .500, matching their season high...The Sox have a plus-42 run differential....The Sox have the major's’ best record on the road at 14-6, .700)...In road series, they're 5-1-0 , with their only lost road series coming at Texas...Thursday's win against Toronto was the third game won by the Red Sox in which they trailed after eight innings -- the most for any MLB team...The Sox lead the majors in come-from-behind wins with 17...The Sox are 12-12 when they don’t score first....: All eight runs by the Red Sox Thursday came with two outs.. They've scored 90 runs with two outs, third-most in the majors behind the Dodgers (94) and White Sox (93).....The Sox have hit 25 HR with two strikes, tied with Atlanta and Cleveland for most in the majors...They also lead MLB with 18 homers on counts of 0-2 and 1-2....: J.D. Martinez hit his 250th career homer Thursday night, making him one of just nine active players with 250 HR and and an .875 OPS....Marwin Gonzalez appeared in his 1,000 game Thursday night when he entered the game in the bottom of the ninth as a defensive replacement at second base. He's the 45th native of Venezuela to reach that milestone...The Sox lead the majors in doubles (100), extra-base hits (162), slugging percentage (.450), and OPS (.776) and are second in runs (232) and batting average (.266)....The Sox are also tied for the lead league in homers, with 32 homers in their last 19 games ...When scoring four or more runs this season, the Sox are 24-3 (.889)....The Red Sox are sixth in the AL and 13th in the majors in ERA (3.90)...The Sox have allowed four ER or fewer in nine of the last 11 games ....The Red Sox are 265-180 (.596) all time against teams from the National League, the best Interleague winning percentage in the majors. Sox pitchers are hitless in their last 24 plate appearances...This is the fifth straight season in which the Sox and Phillies have me in Interleague play....The Sox and Phillies have gone 2-2 against each other in each of the last 3 seasons...Since Citizens Bank Ballpark opened, the Sox are 22-12 there and are 8-1-4 in 13 series there....Andrew McCutchen is 5-for-12 in his career against Martin Perez while Alec Bohm is 2-for-2...Hunter Renfroe is 5-for-9 against Aaron Nola and Kike Hernandez is 3-for-6....Hernandez has a seven-game hitting streak going while Alex Verdugo has a four-game streak, including two homers.
NOTES:
* Danny Santana, as expected, joined the team and was activated for the game. The Sox wasted no time getting him into the lineup -- hitting leadoff and playing first base. Alex Cora said Santana could be used all over the infield and in the outfield and said, like Kike Hernandez and Marwin Gonzalez, Santana would be moved around a lot.
* To make room for Santana on the major league roster and the 40-man roster, the Sox designated RHP Austin Brice for assignment. Brice had appeared in 12 games with no record and a 12.94 ERA. He had pitched just twice in the last nine days. The move gives the Red Sox 13 position players on the roster for the first time this season, to go along with 13 pitchers.
* Cora said he was proud of his team's comeback win Thursday in Dunedin. "We've been saying all along, 'From the first pitch to the last one, keep doing what you have to do and let's see what the result is going to be,' '' said Cora. "It didn't look pretty. We made three errors. It was a struggle. But in the end, they kept playing. Wins like that -- they matter. Those are 'circle' games; let's see what happens after that. Hopefully, we get hot and a month and a half from now, we keep playing good baseball and we can look back and say. 'That was a game-changer.'
* Added Cora: "One thing I like about this group is, they're not caught up with what happened yesterday. They're getting ready for the Phillies, which is the mark of a good team. You have to turn the page, whether it's a tough loss or a 'W' like yesterday, you have to be ready for the next day because, 162, that's what it is. It's not 60 games anymore.''
* Christian Arroyo, recovering from a left hand contusion, was in the lineup as the DH at Worcester. Cora said he expects Arroyo spend the weekend at Worcester before the team re-evaluates for the start of the homestand Tuesday. "A few games to get at-bats is always useful,'' Cora said.
* MLB announced that nearly half of its teams -- 14 of 30 -- have qualified for the 85 percent vaccination rate which allows for some relaxed protocols for those in the traveling party. Cora said the Sox aren't yet one. but added: "We're getting closer,'' said Cora. "We're closer than 15 days ago. We're almost there, but we're not there.''