All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' win over the Angels, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Whitlock provides necessary length: In their first 15 games, the Red Sox hadn't had a starter get into the sixth inning all season, and with the bullpen overworked in recent days, were desperate for Garrett Whitlock to pitch deep into the game. Whitlock accepted the challenge and gave the Red Sox seven strong innings, during which he allowed just one run on three hits. "I was just throwing strikes,'' shrugged Whitlock, whose debut earlier this week saw him give up five runs in five innings. "But honestly, the defense was really working for me today. They made some big double plays (two), some really good plays out there, so that was huge.'' In fact, thanks to the double plays, there was only one inning of his seven in which Whitlock faced more than the three-batter minimum.
Turner supplies all the sock: The Red Sox had just seven hits and only one of them was for extra bases, but that one was huge -- a two-run homer into the Monster Seats by Justin Turner in the third inning. That stood up as all the backing the Red Sox would need. It also served as Turner's first homer in a Red Sox uniform. But Turner could feel this one coming, as he's 9-for-22 in his last six games. "I feel like I had only one terrible day of at-bats -- that was the last day in Detroit,'' said Turner. "Other than that, I feel like I've been putting together good ABs and not getting results. So it's been nice to see some results over the last six games.
Not wasting time: The pitch clock is apparently having its intended effect. Sunday's time of game was 1:57, making it the shortest Red Sox game of the season, briefer even than the one which took just 2:06 Monday night at Tropicana Field. According to the Red Sox, it was the shortest since the team lost a 1-0 game in Detroit on April 22, 1999 which took just 1:49. The last game played at Fenway that was completed in under two hours took place on Oct. 1, 1995, when the Red Sox dropped a 1-0 decision to the Milwaukee Brewers in a time of 1:57.
TURNING POINT
The Red Sox appeared to be in trouble in the eighth inning. With Kaleb Ort on the mound, the Angels used a leadoff single from Gio Urshella and a one-out walk to Brandon Drury to give themselves runners at first and second with one out. But Ort got Ryan O'Hoppe to fly to center, and then, with the top of the order due, Ort whirled and picked off pinch-runner Brett Phillips off second for the third out. The play was called by bench coach Ramon Vazquez from the dugout and was executed to perfection to get the Sox out of a jam.
TWO UP
Alex Verdugo: Verdugo continues to be the picture of consistency for the Sox, going 2-for-4. He has at least one hit in 13 of the 15 games in which he's played.
Ryan Brasier: With closer Kenley Jansen unavailable after pitching the previous two days, Brasier locked down the save in the ninth, fanning Mike Trout and retiring Shohei Ohtani on a flyout for the final two outs.
TWO DOWN
Rafael Devers: A rare off day at the plate for the slugging third baseman, who was 0-for-3 with two flyouts and a double play.
Yu Chang: There wasn't any immediate benefit from Chang's two-hit, four-RBI game Saturday, as he regressed to another 0-for-3 afternoon.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"(Whitlock) going seven, going deep, was big for him, but also big for our bullpen, giving those guys down there a little blow.'' Justin Turner.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* The Red Sox are 8-3 when hitting a home run this season.
* The save for Ryan Brasier was his first this season and ninth of his career.
* After being stuck in an 0-for-28 slump, Kikรฉ Hernandez is now 6-for-18 in the last five games.
* The Sox have come from behind in six of their eight wins.
* After allowing a run in the second, Garrett Whitlock retired 14 of the next 16 hitters he faced.
UP NEXT
The teams close out their four-game, wraparound series with the annual Patriots Day game at 11:10 a.m., with RHP Brayan Bello (0-0, 0.00) making his debut, facing RHP Shohei Ohtani (2-0, 0.47).