Betts hit three home runs and drove in a career-best eight runs, joining Hall of Famer Ted Williams as the only Red Sox players in over 100 years with a pair of three-homer games in a season and powering Boston over the Arizona Diamondbacks 16-2 Sunday.
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His first homer was a two-run shot in the first inning. The other came at Baltimore against the Orioles on May 31.
Betts opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning, smacking a two-run homer off of starter Zack Greinke.
The Red Sox didn’t need much else, though they got plenty of offense anyway, including a home run from Jackie Bradley Jr. and five hits from leadoff man Dustin Pedroia.
“Well, they just hit everything he threw up there”, Arizona manager Chip Hale said. “We’ve seen him do it (with us)”. David Ortiz leads the Red Sox with 26.
Rick Porcello was in cruise control through seven innings, allowing just a single run off three hits, but with the Red Sox way ahead Porcello was pulled after just 80 pitches.
Boston’s first series win in weeks has turned into their first series sweep in weeks, and it wasn’t the least bit close either.
Porcello shut down Arizona 1-2-3 in the third before giving up a solo home run to Michael Bourn in the fourth, the only run he allowed.
If you thought Friday’s game was bad, this one made that look like a close-fought and competitive struggle. He improved to 12-0 at Fenway in 2016, and the Red Sox have won all 13 of his home starts. Ferriss went 13-0 at Fenway that year.
The Red Sox now embark on a grueling 11-day, four-city road trip, starting with a make-up game in Cleveland Monday at 1 p.m.
“It just seemed like my stuff was really flat today”, said Greinke, who had won eight straight decisions before Sunday’s debacle.
Boston did the bulk of its damage during its seven-run second frame and a six-run fifth.
“While he’s making progress, we felt like it probably wasn’t the time to push this”, Farrell said.
The move, made retroactively to August 8, gives Saturday’s starter, Clay Buchholz, at least one more turn in the rotation. In addition, LHP Roenis Elias was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket, while first baseman Hanley Ramirez was placed on the bereavement list.
Demoted to the bullpen twice this season, Buchholz made his first start since early July on the eve of his 32nd birthday because knuckleballer Steven Wright was scratched on Thursday after jamming his pitching shoulder diving back into second during an interleague game. Red Sox LHP Drew Pomeranz (0-2, 5.26 ERA) opposes Indians RHP Josh Tomlin (11-5, 4.18 ERA) this afternoon.
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– Boston finishes the homestand 4-2.
