Red Sox
Justin Turner bounced back, Adam Duvall hit a big home run, Chris Martin came up clutch, and more.
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Why Rafael Devers briefly played shortstop for the first time since 2019 on Saturday
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Watch: Alex Verdugo makes history with third straight leadoff home run for Red Sox
The Red Sox are still scratching and clawing for a wild card spot. They’re three games back in that race, but taking a win over the high-powered Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday helps.
Boston fell behind early but kept fighting and built a lead in the bottom of the sixth inning and never relinquished it. The Dodgers did plenty to keep it interesting, though.
Mookie Betts nearly stole the show in the top of the ninth. With the bases loaded down three, Betts stepped up to the plate having three hits to his name already. He found a pitch he liked and slammed it deep into center field, but the ball ran out of gas at the warning track and dropped for a fly out to end the game.
Here are four takeaways from the Red Sox’s 8-5 win:
Adam Duvall found his groove late.
After an 0-for-2 start to his day, Adam Duvall made his plate appearances count when Boston needed him.
Duvall gave the Red Sox their first lead of the game with a three-run homer over the Green Monster in the sixth, and he fired a double in the eighth that advanced Rafael Devers to third. Luis Urías brought Devers home with a drive up the middle that Betts mishandled.
Duvall finished his night 2-4 with three RBIs and one run scored. He also secured the final out of the game, catching Betts’ fly ball.
Chris Martin and John Schreiber came up clutch.
Chris Martin had a tall task ahead of him when he got called into the game in the eighth inning. LA loaded the bases on Garrett Whitlock with two outs, down two runs.
Martin had to get out of the jam against Max Muncy — who already had a home run earlier in the game. Still, he got a called strikeout and stranded all three Dodgers on base, allowing Boston to leave the inning with a two-run lead.
Muncy was the only batter Martin faced, but he got one of the most important outs of the game.
John Schreiber pitched the whole ninth inning and worked himself into a jam when the Dodgers once again loaded the bases. But, Schreiber was able to get Mookie out and finished his outing with two strikeouts while only giving up one hit.
Justin Turner bounced back at the plate.
On Friday, Justin Turner had one of his worst batting performances of the season, going 0-for-5. He didn’t let that linger into game two of the series.
Saturday saw Turner go 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. The bottom of Boston’s order struggled to get going offensively, but Turner proved to be reliable as usual and helped keep the offense humming.
Turner is still dealing with a foot injury, yet that hasn’t stopped him from providing strong contributions to the Red Sox lineup.
James Paxton had a shaky start on the mound.
James Paxton didn’t have a great outing on Saturday trying to slow down the Dodgers’ offense. He went 4 and 1/3 innings allowing four hits and four earned runs. He also walked five batters and struck out out four. Paxton has a 3.99 ERA this season in 18 starts.
Boston’s bullpen had Paxton’s back, though, and pitched 4 and 2/3 innings of solid baseball to give the Red Sox a chance to come back and win.
Game three of the series between Boston and LA is set for Sunday at 1:35 p.m. EST.
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