Mookie Betts became the second player in Boston Red Sox history to hit three home runs in a game twice in the same season Sunday.
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On Sunday, the right-handers match up at Fenway Park when Greinke’s Arizona Diamondbacks finish their three-game interleague series with Porcello’s Boston Red Sox, who are going for a sweep. It was Betts’ second career three-homer game, with the other coming May 31 at Baltimore.His eight RBIs in a game were the most for any Red Sox player since Bill Mueller hit grand slams from both sides of the plate and added a solo shot for nine RBIs at Texas on July 29, 2003.
A day after Mookie Betts hit three home runs in a win over the Diamondbacks, the right fielder made a catch he probably shouldn’t have.
Zack Greinke picked up right where he left off in his first start since coming back from injury on August 9 against the New York Mets.
The way he prefers to emerge from such a condition is to report to the ballpark early before a day game that precedes a four-city, 11-game road trip, grab a bat and stay in the batting cage until he feels like he has “swung my way out of it”. “It’s still our job to go get guys out”, Bradley said.
Porcello allowed one run on three hits over seven innings and became the first Boston pitcher since Dave “Boo” Ferriss to begin a year by winning his first 12 decisions in Fenway.
Greinke departed from this game with a 4.31 ERA. Holt was the only starter in the Red Sox lineup this afternoon that failed to contribute to the 19 hits the team piled up against Zack Greinke and the Arizona bullpen.
Trailing 3-1, the Red Sox charged ahead with the runs that were keyed by Brito charging for the flyball and letting it drop next to him. He hit an RBI single in the first, singled and scored in the fourth, and homered in the fifth, his 20th.
Steven Matz took a no-hitter into the eighth inning as the New York Mets beat the San Diego Padres, while Ryan Braun hit two home runs and collected six RBIs to power a 7-3 Milwaukee Brewers win over the Cincinnati Reds.
“We play the game to win a World Series, so I’m just trying to do that”, Betts said.
Jackie Bradley Jr. also homered in the second inning, handing Greinke (11-4) the worst loss of his laudable career. In the second, after Andrew Benintendi hit an RBI double and Pedroia drove in a run with a single, Betts yanked a down-and-away slider over the Green Monster for a three-run shot. He is aiming to become Boston’s first 20-game victor since Josh Beckett in 2007 and has plenty of starts left to get there. He collected five hits today, setting a franchise record with his fifth career 5-hit game. Kimbrel, since his return, has had control issues, though he’s still been able to find ways to escape jams despite walking five in four innings pitched in August.
Cesar Hernandez extended his on-base streak to 21 games with a fourth-inning walk and had an RBI single.
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This now brings us to David Price (10-8, 4.29 ERA) who perhaps has been the most inconsistent of them all. He added a three-run home run in the fifth.
