All you need to know, in quickie form, about the the Red Sox' win over the Royals, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES:
Renfroe puts on a show: Outfielder Hunter Renfroe continues to prove himself as a huge bargain for the Red Sox, offering Gold Glove-caliber defense in right, a plus throwing arm and power to spare at the plate. On Monday night, it was his bat that did the damage, providing two gargantuan homers -- each measured at more than 430 feet. The first one brought the Sox to within a run at 5-4 and the second one gave them the lead for the first time in the game, and held up as the game-winner. While Renfroe arrived as a guy with a reputation with big power but a lot of swing-and-miss, he's actually re-made himself into a more complete hitter. Over the last 49 games, constituting nearly a third of the season, Renfroe is now hitting .301 with a .910 OPS. He's shown the ability to hit the ball the other way and, for the first time in his career, the ability to consistently hit righthanders. "I'm seeing the ball as well as I have in a long time,'' said Renfroe. Added Alex Cora; "People need to start recognizing him as one of our best players.''
Bullpen bails out Sox again: Four games into this current homestand, the Red Sox are undefeated and they have their relievers (and some power displays) to thank. On Monday night, three relievers contributed 3.1 innings during which they allowed just one baserunner. Dating back to the start of the weekend series, the Sox have gotten super relief. Over the last four games, the bullpen has combined to provide 13 innings of relief while allowing a single run in that span. That the Red Sox are averaging nearly 3.1 innings of work from their relievers in the last four games is more than a little troubling, since that's unlikely to be sustainable. But with Cora mixing and matching, and alternate usage from among Hirokazu Sawamura, Josh Taylor, Adam Ottavino and Matt Barnes, they've somehow been able to navigate through some shorter starts from their rotation.
TURNING POINT:
After pushing Garrett Richards about as far as he could go -- 5.2 innings and 88 pitches -- the Sox turned to Hirokazu Sawmura, who inherited a man on first with two outs in the sixth and the Royals' best hitter, Whit Merrifield, due at the plate. Sawamura had looked gassed when called upon Saturday night, walking the bases loaded, but on Monday, he needed just one pitch to induce an inning-ending groundout from Merrifield, ending Kansas City's threat.
TWO UP
Bobby Dalbec: The first baseman entered the game 0-for-15, but hit a monster blast in the second inning, then added a single and scored a run in his next plate appearance.
Kike Hernandez: For the second straight game, Hernandez led off the home half of the first with a homer. He later added a single and walk, reaching base three times.
TWO DOWN
Christian Vazquez: It was a rough night at the plate for the catcher, who flied out and twice went down swinging.
J.D. Martinez: After drawing a first-inning walk, Martinez struggled the rest of the way. He grounded out to strand a runner in the third, hit into an inning-ending double play in the fifth and fanned with a runner on board in the eighth.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"Grinding, man. That's all I've been doing. Trying to figure out how to pitch again, man.'' Garrett Richards.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* Josh Taylor ran his scoreless streak to 23 straight games, four shy of the club record held by Koji Uehara.
* The comeback win was the 26th comeback win and the four-run deficit tied for the biggest they've overcome this season.
* Xander Bogaerts extended his on-base streak to 23 games, the second-longest of his career.
* Matt Barnes picked up his 17th save in 20 save opportunities.
* Bobby Dalbec has 28 RBI in his last 37 games.
UP NEXT: The Red Sox and Royals play the second game of their series at 7:10 with RHP Nick Pivetta (6-3, 4.00) vs. RHP Brad Keller (6-8, 6.39).
