A heavenly sweep
Sox perfect vs. Halos in ’18
When David Fletcher hit a rocket off Joe Kelly in the eighth inning last night, it looked like the Red Sox were in serious trouble.
Luckily for them, Andrew Benintendi was there to save the day.
RED SOX ANGELS 4 2
The Red Sox held a three-run lead in the eighth when Kelly came in, and it was down to two when the right-hander, with two runners on base, delivered a 98-mph fastball that Fletcher drilled to left. It looked destined for the Green Monster when Benintendi leapt at the warning track to make the grab.
“I thought he didn’t get it, honestly, so the reaction was great, and it gave us a chance,” Sox manager Alex Cora said. “That play, it’s a game-changer.”
It was pivotal in Kelly escaping the mess he made, and the Red Sox didn’t waste it. They used Jackie Bradley Jr.’s earlier two-run homer to record a 4-2 victory over the Angels to earn the season series sweep. It was the first time in Red Sox history that they swept a season series of at least six games.
“When you don’t have it going at the plate, you try to make a play on defense,” Benintendi said. “It kind of lined up well there and timed it up well and was able to make it.”
The Red Sox, with a onegame lead in the AL East, now head to the Bronx tonight to start a three-game series with the secondplace Yankees.
With Steven Wright placed on the disabled list earlier this week, Brian Johnson got the start and was mostly effective.
The left-hander’s only costly mistake came in the fourth inning, when he left a curveball hanging to Andrelton Simmons, who easily deposited it over the Green Monster for a solo homer to give the Angels a 1-0 lead.
Rafael Devers tied the game by crushing his 13th home run of the season in the fifth, a no-doubter to dead center off rookie Jaime Barria’s 2-0 fastball.
The Red Sox carried that momentum into the sixth. J.D. Martinez drew a oneout walk before Mitch Moreland smoked a double to deep center to put runners on second and third. The Angels opted to intentionally walk Xander Bogaerts to load the bases and face Brock Holt. But with a full count, Jose Alvarez walked in the go-ahead run. Devers had a chance to blow the game open, but grounded into a double play to end the threat.
In the seventh, the Sox did get some insurance. Christian Vazquez led off with a single before Bradley teed off to right field for his sixth homer of the season to give the Sox a 4-1 lead.
Bradley, who made another impressive play in center — leaping at the wall to rob Justin Upton of extra bases in the first, continued his recent hot streak.
“It’s good to see him smile on the field,” Cora said. “That’s good to see. It got to a point there where he wasn’t smiling, and now he’s enjoying the game.”
Kelly nearly ruined the party in the eighth. He issued a leadoff walk to Mike Trout before allowing back-to-back singles to Upton and Albert Pujols to make it a 4-2 game. Then his defense rose to the occasion.
The next batter, Simmons, hit a dipping liner to right, but Mookie Betts made an impressive running catch. Then Benintendi provided his heroics before Kelly retired Luis Valbuena to end the inning.
Craig Kimbrel picked up his 24th save of the season, striking out Trout swinging to end it.