Braves 7, Red Sox 5
BOSTON, Sept. 2 — The Boston Red Sox gave the ball to a trio of newcomers looking to avoid a sweep by the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night. This went just about as well as anybody would’ve expected. One day after the nightmare that was Marcell Ozuna blasting three homers in Fenway, Adam Duvall decided to have some fun and make history by becoming the first pair of teammates to have three-home run performances in back-to-back games.
Sides Trade Blows
Seven Red Sox batters dug in in the home half of the first inning to plate three runs. A pair of walks and a pair of doubles from the first four batters gave them the early 2-0 lead. Two batters later Michael Chavis scored Xander Bogaerts on a sac fly to give his bullpen a three-run cushion.
The first three pitchers for the Red Sox combined for two previous appearances in 2020. Robinson Leyer was the opener and at 27-years old he made his MLB debut two days prior. Mike Kickham came on next, and the 31-year old last appeared in a big league game in 2014 with the San Francisco Giants. The third man to take the hill was 31-year old Andrew Triggs. Triggs appeared in one other game with the Giants this season where he lasted just one third of an inning.
Leyer made it through the first frame without any damage, where the real issues presented themselves were the six innings that followed. Kickham pitched three innings, giving up five hits and three runs. All of which happened to be in the second inning. The second hit of the inning was a two-run homer by way of Duvall, his first of the night.
Boston got a little insurance in the fourth and fifth from a Jackie Bradley Jr. home run, and an RBI single from J.D. Martinez to put them ahead by two.
Welcome to the Party, Adam Duvall
In Triggs’s second inning of work he had no answer for Duvall as he pulled an outside slider way over the Green Monster. The 2-0 pitch quickly erased the Red Sox lead and the Braves never looked back.
One inning later Ozuna wanted to remind the fans what he did the night before as he blasted his 12th homer of the season and fourth of the series in the seventh inning. The home run put his side ahead by one and pretty much ended the night for Triggs. The right-hander was pulled ahead of the eighth inning before having to face Duvall again.
Duvall was the third batter of the inning and wasted no time. He turned around a first-pitch fastball from Ryan Brasier to dead center field. His third homer of the night also turned into his fourth of the series. Paired with Ozuna’s long ball an inning earlier, they become the first teammates to each hit four home runs in a three-game series at Fenway Park.
Red Sox Welcome the Blue Jays into Fenway
The 7-5 score held up the rest of the way as the Braves completed the three-game sweep of the Red Sox. The Red Sox will welcome the Toronto Blue Jays into Fenway on Thursday for a 7:30 ET first pitch. The series will feature two games in Boston before heading to Buffalo for three more. Newly acquired Taijuan Walker (3-2, 3.27) gets the nod for the Blue Jays. The Red Sox will counter with Martin Perez (2-4, 4.58) who has been the team’s best starter all season long.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
