Returning to home to Fenway, the Red Sox picked right up where they left off, bashing out 14 hits for an 11-5 throttling of the Philadelphia Phillies for the ninth straight home victory.
J.D. Martinez homered and knocked in four runs, Kike Hernandez homered and added two RBI of his own and three other Red Sox had two hits each.
Garrett Richards had a shaky first two innings, in part because of suspect defense but got through five innings to earn his first win since May 19.
WHO: Red Sox (54-34) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (42-43)
WHEN: 7:10 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: BOS 2-1
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Garrett Richards (4-5, 4.88) vs. RHP Vince Velazquez (3-3, 4.50)
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI 93.7 FM
LINEUPS
PHILLIES
Segura 2B
Realmuto C
Harper DH
McCutchen LF
Miller RF
Hoskins 1B
Gregorius SS
Bohm 3B
Jankowski CF
RED SOX
Hernandez CF
Verdugo LF
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Renfroe RF
Arroyo 2B
Vazquez C
Dalbec 1B
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
T7: Andriese doesn't get off to the best start, issuing a walk to the first man he faces, Alec Bohm -- despite an eight-run lead.
T7: Matt Andriese on for the top of the 7th, trying to work through a poor stretch. In his last 23.2 innings, he's allowed 21 runs.
B5: The parade of hits continues for the Red Sox, with the second extra-base hit of the night for Hernandez -- bloop, ground-rule double that falls in on the RF line, scoring Christian Vazquez.
B3: Martinez with a laser double that hops into the bullpen, which costs him an extra RBI. He's got four already tonight.
B3: Five straight hits for the Red Sox and two more runs.
B3: Rafael Devers connects on a shot into the CF bleachers, for homer No. 22.
B2: J.D. Martinez couldn't have gotten a more inviting pitch -a fastball over the heart of the plate, which he drives to the bullpen for a three-run shot. No,. 18 for Martinez.
T2: Three straight hits -- plus an error on the part of Hernandez -- and the Phils retake the lead. Sloppy night so far by the Red Sox outfield.
B1: Red Sox get another run on a forceout at second, but with the bases loaded and just one out, should have had a bigger inning than they did.
B1: It takes two pitches for Kike Hernandez to tie things up -- a high fly ball that hits one of the back signs atop the Monster Seats. Eleventh homer of the season, and fifth this season.
T1: Two really hard-hit balls to left off Garrett Richards -- the first by Jean Segura, inexplicably ruled a triple despite an obvious bobble in LF by Alex Verdugo; the second a double by J.T. Realmuto -- and the Phils have a quick 1-0 lead.
WHAT'S UP: At 54-34 (.614), the Red Sox are tied for the MLB lead in wins and for the AL’s best record. The Sox have lost their last two games, after winning 10 of their previous 11...They are 22-11 (.667) since June 3....Seven of the Red Sox’ last 10 games have been decided by one run, including five of the last six..They own the majors’ third-best record in one-run games (17-9, .654). The Sox are an MLB-best 27-15 (.643) in games decided by either one or two runs...Since losing their first three games of the season to the Orioles, the Red Sox have not been swept in a series of any length...The Sox have swept nine series, including one four-game set and four three-game series. The Sox are one of two teams without a losing streak of longer than three games (also NYM)...The last two seasons in which the Sox never lost more than thre straight games were 2013 and 2018 (won World Series both years)....The Red Sox have won each of their last eight home games, their longest win streak at Fenway Park since 2018...They have not had a longer win streak at home since 2011 (9-0 from July 5-24). During their win streak, the Sox have posted a 2.25 ERA and out-scored opponents, 54-22. The Sox are 27-17 (.614) at home, the fourth-best record in the AL (10th-best in MLB). The Sox own MLB’s best road record (27-17, .614)...The Red Sox are 10-2 vs. NL teams this season...They are 273-182 (.600) all time against the NL, the highest Interleague winning percentage in MLB. The Red Sox are 1-4 in their last five home games vs. PHI, after going 16-4 in their previous 20...The Red Sox lead the majors with 28 come-from-behind wins this season. The Sox lead the majors in runs scored with two outs (189)...With RISP and twol outs, the Sox lead MLB in AVG (.285) and OPS (.865). The Sox lead MLB in two-strike RBI (174)...Rafael Devers leads the majors in two-strike RBI (34)...The Red Sox rank in the top 5 in the majors in runs scored (second, 447), AVG (third, .258), SLG (fourth, .437), OPS (fifth, .757), doubles (first, 185), and XBH (first, 305). The Red Sox have hit four or more homers in a game an MLB-best eight times...They lead MLB with 19 three-run homers. The Sox are an MLB-best 47-6 (.887) when scoring four or more runs...They are 41-4 when scoring five or more runs, 34-2 when scoring six or more runs, and 25-0 when scoring seven or more runs....The Red Sox haven't committed an error in their last five games...Their longest errorless streak of the season is six games, done twice....The Sox lead MLB with 28 OF assists; no other team has more than 19...Sox outfielders rank tied for second in MLB with 19 defensive runs saved....Red Sox relievers rank third in the AL and seventh in the majors in ERA (3.45)...Their nine active relievers have a combined 2.92 ERA for the Sox in their last 22 games ....Sox relievers have posted a 2.43 ERA and have stranded 20 of their last 22 inherited runners...In their last 14 games, the Red Sox lead the AL with a 2.69 ERA ...Sox pitchers have issued three walks or fewer in 10 of their last 11 games....In that time, they lead the majors in SO/BB ratio (4.67). In their last two games, Sox pitchers have 21 SO and 1 BB.....The Sox lead the AL with 1.04 HR allowed per 9.0 IP. Sox starters have thrown five or more innings 69 times, third-most in the majors (45-24 in those games)...Josh Taylor has made 26 consecutive scoreless appearances (21.2 IP), MLB’s longest streak of 2021... No pitcher has had a longer single-season streak since MIN’s Taylor Rogers in 2018 (28 games)...J.D. Martinez owns MLB’s longest active on-base streak (25 G), the second-longest of his career (26 G in 2018)...Garrett Richards has allowed two runs in his last start after allowing four or more earned runs in each of his previous four starts...Richards has not earned a win in his last eight starts (last: 5/19 at TOR), tied for the longest winless streak of his career...Richards has thrown five or more innings in back-to-back starts after combining for 5.2 IP in his previous two....He has thrown five or more innings in 11 of his last 13 starts. Is 3-2 with a 3.92 ERA in 11 road starts (25 ER/57.1 IP), compared to 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA in six home outings.
NOTES:
* The Red Sox made several roster moves prior to the game. They activated catcher Kevin Plawecki and returned Connor Wong to Worcester. They also placed IF/OF Danny Santana on the 10-day IL with a quad strained and recalled INF Michael Chavis from Worcester.
* OF Kike Hernandez expressed displeasure with the decision to have the Red Sox play Thursday night in New York against the Yankees. Hernandez says it's worst for the five All-Stars, who have to fly to Denver, return Wednesday and be in New York Thursday "MLB likes money. Red Sox-Yankees makes money. Let there be money.'' ESPN has a clause in its deal that gives it an exclusive telecasts on the Thursday after the All-Star break.