The Red Sox ran their winning streak to four straight, holding off the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3.
The Sox took a 2-0 lead in the second, and after the Phils managed a run in the fourth, the Sox got back-to-back solo homers from Xander Bogaerts and newcomer Danny Santana. For Santana, it was his second homer in two games.
The Phils edged closer with a homer from Rhys Hoskins in the sixth and used a bases-loaded hit batsman to force in another in the seventh.
Nathan Eovaldi (5.1 innings, 2 ER) picked up the win and Matt Barnes earned his 11th save.
WHO: Red Sox (28-18) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (22-23)
WHEN: 7:15 p.m.
WHERE: Citizens Bank Ballpark
SERIES TO DATE: Red Sox 1-0
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (4-2, 4.50) vs. RHP Spencer Howard (0-0, 8.31)
TV/RADIO: Fox; WEEI-FM, 93.7
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Hernandez 2B
Devers 3B
Martinez RF
Bogaerts SS
Santana CF
Dalbec 1B
Cordero LF
Plawecki C
Eovaldi P
PHILLIES
McCutchen LF
Segura 2B
Harper RF
Hoskins 1B
Miller 2B
Herrera CF
Maton SS
Marchan C
Howard P
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
: Strong outing for Adam Ottavino, who strikes out the side in the eighth.
T8: Marwin Gonzalez, off the bench, delivers a pinch-hit single to snap an 0-for-16 skid. Alex Cora said he would look to give him a good matchup, since he's been struggling against fastballs. So, against sinkerballer Brandon Kintzler, Gonzalez singles.
B7: Well, that was quite a stretch of three hitters for Hernandez. First, he freezes Bryce Harper on a 96 mph fastball for a called strike three. Then, he drills Hoskins and claims that Hoskins swung at the pitch. Then, after getting squeezed by home plate umpire Scott Barry on not one, but two pitches that should have been strikes, he goes above the zone and fans Brad Miller with a 95 mph heater.
B7: Phillips Valdez has been superb this month and came into tonight having not allowed a run in May. But he was off tonight and a single, walk and a hit batsman has loaded the bases. Darwinzon Hernandez on to face Bryce Harper.
B6: First homer allowed by Eovaldi this season, and first since last September -- Rhys Hoskins takes him deep to bring the Phils to within two. And after a sharp single to left by Brad Miller, Eovaldi's night is done.
T6: Coonrod just allowed two homers and struck out three. If he had only worked in a walk, it would have been the prototypical 2021 inning.
T6: Danny Santana is here. Two games, two homers -- this one to left-center.
T6: Sam Coonrod, facing his first hitter, leaves a sinker up over the middle of the plate and Bogaerts goes the other way with his 10th homer.
B5: After issuing a leadoff walk in the second, Eovaldi hasn't walked anyone else and has retired 12 of the last 14 hitters he's faced.
T3: Bogaerts tomahawks a high fastball to left, deep enough to score Hernandez from third.
T3: Rafael Devers reaches on a bloop double down the right field line, scoring Eovaldi. Spencer Howard has no one to blame for himself, having walked Eovaldi, then Kike Hernandez.
T2: Danny Santana's speed was a big part of his appeal and he has stolen -- with help of review -- his first base with the Sox, giving the Sox a baserunner in scoring position with just one out.
T2: Xander Bogaerts is one of the better hitters in the game when it comes to checking his swing, but first base umpire Jeremie Rehak incorrectly rules that Bogaerts went around, putting Bogaerts in an 0-and-2 hole, and eventually, a strikeout.
B1: Big strikeout for Nathan Eovaldi, who challenges Bryce Harper up in the zone and gets him to swing through it for the second out of the inning.
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox have won six of their last eight games, including the last three in a row... At 28-18 (.609), the Sox own the American League's best record, trailing San Diego and San Francisco (both 28-17, .622) for best in MLB. The Sox are a season-high 10 games above .500....Their plus-50 run differential ranks third in the AL...The Sox lead all of baseball in comeback wins with 17....The Sox own the majors’ best record road record at 15-6 (.714)...They are 5-1-0 in road series this season and can improve to 6-1-0 with a win either tonight or Sunday...In the last two games, the Red Sox have scored 19 runs; 17 of those have come with two outs. The Sox lead all of baseball with 99....The Sox have also hit 27 HR with two strikes, most among American League teams. Only Atlanta, their next opponent, has more with 28....Danny Santana became the fourth player in Red Sox history to bat leadoff and homer in their club debut and the first since 1945, when Ben Steiner did it.... The Red Sox lead the majors in runs (243), doubles (104), extra-base hits (168), slugging percentage (.453), and OPS (.779)...They're also second in batting average (.267), with only Houston (.272) ahead of them...The Sox are tied for second in the AL with 61 homers and have hit 34 HR in their last 20 games, the most during that span...When they score at least four runs, the Sox are 25-3 (.893)...: The Sox are outhomering opponents, 61-33 (+28), the largest differential in MLB....Sox pitchers have allowed just 0.73 homers per nine innings, the lowest rate in the American League....The Sox have allowed one or no homers in 17 of their last 18 games, including each of their last 10...They've yet to allow three homers in a game, the only team in either league with distinction...Xander Bogaerts became just the third Red Sox player in team history to hit his 250th double before turning 29m joining Bobby Doerr and Carl Yastrzemski, both Hall of Famers...J.D. Martinez has played 394 games with the Red Sox has 98 homers and 299 RBI. .The only players in club history with at least 100 HR and 300 RBI through their first 400 games are Jimmie Foxx, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez....The Red Sox rank sixth in the AL and 12th in the majors in ERA at 3.88....They've allowed four earned runs or fewer in 10 of the last 12 games....Red Sox starters have thrown five or more innings in 39 of 46 games (84.8%), the most in the majors....They've thrown five or more innings in each of the club’s last 14 games, their longest streak of the season and the longest active streak in the majors...Sox starters have thrown six or more innings in nine of their last 13 games after reaching that mark just eight times in their first 33 games....Bryce Harper is 8-for-21 with a homer in his career against Nathan Eovaldi while Jean Segura is 4-for-12.
NOTES:
* Alex Verdugo, who felt some tightness in his hamstring late in the game Friday and was removed, is out of the starting lineup and Alex Cora said the Sox would try to stay away from him both tonight and Sunday. That time off, coupled with an off-day on the schedule Monday, should give him ample time to recover and be ready to be back in the lineup Tuesday night when the Sox begin a homestand. Cora, however, stressed that Verdugo would be available off the bench this weekend if needed.
* RHP Ryan Brasier threw off a mound for 25 pitches n Fort Myers and Cora said he's getting somewhat closer to a rehab assignment, while emphasizing that he's not ready to do that quite yet. The next step will be throwing live BP. Brasier missed several weeks of spring training and when he returned, suffered a strained calf muscle toward the end of March.
* Marwin Gonzalez, who is hitless in his last 15 at-bats and just 4-for-36 (.111), bringing him to .199 for the season, is out of the lineup tonight. "One thing that he's fighting,'' said Cora, "is catching up with the fastball. He's conscious that he's not catching up to it. This is the toughest stretch for him, with the strikeouts. He's such an asset in other aspects of the game. Mostly likely, he'll play second (Sunday). He understands where we're at right now. We'll help him up to get some matchups that are favorable to him. He'll get out of it. But the reality is, right now, he's scuffling.''
* Cora said Worcester reliever Edward Bazardo (lat strain) would be sidelined indefinitely and would have more details Sunday.