There is no hotter team in baseball than the Boston Red Sox.
With the bases loaded, down 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth, Mookie Betts, after an epic 13-pitch at bat, launched a ball clear over the monster for his 23rd home run of the season. Betts added another RBI in the sixth and the A.L leading Red Sox held on to beat the Blue Jays, 6-4, winning their 10th straight game.
The Red Sox are now a remarkable 37 games over .500 as they moved to an MLB-best 66-29. All this with three games left before the All-Star break. Not surprisingly, Betts has had his fingerprints all over the Red Sox success. During the team’s 10-game winning streak, Betts has slugged three home runs and driven in eight to the tune of a .428 average as he has hit safely in all 10 games.
Entering Thursday night’s action against the Blue Jays, Betts was leading the league in batting average (.350), slugging (.675), and OPS (1.114). In addition, he is in the top 10 in just about every offensive category. His second grand slam and five RBI’s on Thursday further strengthened his case for the American League MVP award.
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David Price picked up his 10th win of the season as he went 6.2 innings, striking out eight while allowing three runs on six hits. Despite picking up the win, home run concerns continued for Price as he gave up two more on Thursday night. He has now given up home runs in five straight games. In that span, opposing batters launched 11 long balls off of Price.
Brandon Workman and Matt Barnes combined to pitch 1.1 innings of relief for Price, allowing one run on three hits. Craig Kimbrel came in for the ninth and allowed just one hit en route to his 29th save of the season.
Sandy Leon picked up the only other RBI of the night, the first for the Red Sox. Jackie Bradley Jr. scored twice and picked up two hits as well. J.D. Martinez, Blake Swihart, and Eduardo Nunez all collected a hit apiece.
With the Yankees winning on Thursday as well, the Red Sox remain 3.5 games ahead in the A.L. East standings. They have three games remaining before the All-Star break.
– Ian Glendon is the Editor-In-Chief of Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @iglen31 Follow @FPC_Patriots and Facebook.
