Pops go the Fourth
On eve of holiday, Sox’ bats have blast vs. Nats
WASHINGTON — So much winning.
In advance of celebrating the Fourth of July in our nation’s capital today, the 58-29 Red Sox began with a party last night in which they won a game, 11-4, that also won a series against the Nationals.
A pair of three-run home runs — the first from Eduardo Nunez to get the Red Sox on the board, then from Xander Bogaerts as the centerpiece to a six-run fifth inning — and a two-run cherryon-top blast by J.D. Martinez in the ninth, provided the pop the visitors needed on a scorching evening (94 degrees at first pitch). The second consecutive win over the Nats puts the Sox in position for a sweep.
The series finale begins at 11 a.m., a holiday-themed start time to allow D.C.-niks a chance to see the fireworks on the National Mall tonight. Eduardo Rodriguez will square up against Erick Fedde.
Leading by a run in the fifth inning, the Red Sox went on a sixrun tear that dampened any preFourth buzz circulating in town.
Manager Alex Cora joked that starter Brian Johnson “better hit a double with the bases loaded” like Rick Porcello had done the previous night. Johnson did not get that opportunity but he did ignite the nine-batter fifth-inning fireworks with a single.
“(Porcello’s) got me, he got the double and RBI but I’ll take the single,” said Johnson with a broad smile. “But he definitely won.”
Martinez got a kick out of the pitchers’ offense, too.
“It’s funny, it’s funny, it’s been cool watching them, especially Rick,” said Martinez, whose 26th home run of the season keeps him in the major league lead. “Me and Mookie were talking about it just now about how it kind of puts it in perspective for them to see how hard it is to hit.”
Actually the Red Sox lineup doesn’t make hitting look that hard these days. Martinez, Bogaerts and Nunez made hitting seem easy with the Nationals left-handed starter Tanner Roark in the game for seven innings so he could give up 10 hits and nine runs.
“We did our job, a lot of guys stepped up,” said Bogaerts. “We know the weather’s not the best. But it’s hot, better than cold. A lot of guys swung at good pitches, we had good at-bats.”
Blessed with the healthy sevenrun lead, Johnson could not quite pitch deep enough to qualify for a win. After retiring the first batter in the fifth, Johnson allowed a single and a walk and then retired Daniel Murphy but Cora had seen enough after 77 pitches.
“Nah, at the end of the day it’s a team win,” said Cora about any regrets about not keeping Johnson in the game. “He went for four innings to almost 80 (pitches) or whatever he had and under those conditions it felt like it was more. He understands. He gave us a chance to win and he’ll be ready for the next one.”
For a second straight game, the Sox got on the board first in the second inning with a single threerun stroke. The homer came from Nunez (2-for-4), who is heating up after a cool first half.
“Yeah, yeah, some people have slow starts,” said Nunez, now 10 for his last 27 with runners in scoring position. “Some people have good starts. It depends on how you finish. Not how you start. So there’s a long way to go still.”