Jackie Bradley Jr. never doubted he would pull out of his slump Lane Taylor Jersey , even as he hit .167 in June and fell further down Boston’s batting order.
He kept putting in the work. Kept tinkering with his stance and his swing. Kept believing he would snap out of it.
”You have to trust that what you’re doing is going to produce results,” Bradley said after his second straight three-hit game helped the Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 9-1 on Tuesday night.
”If it doesn’t early on, it’s a long season,” said Bradley, who batted ninth and drove in four runs. ”You’ve just got to continue to grind. There’s no other way.”
Mookie Betts homered on John Lamb’s first pitch of the game, and J.D. Martinez hit his major league-leading 24th home run to back David Price’s six strong innings and lead the Red Sox to their fourth win in the last five games. The Angels lost their fourth straight game.
Christian Vazquez also hit one of Boston’s four homers to help Price (9-5) bounce back from his previous loss on Wednesday in Minnesota that was his first since May 3. He allowed five hits on Tuesday, including a solo homer to Chris Young, and two walks while striking out seven.
Bradley has now had back-to-back multi-hit games after producing just five in his previous 68 games this season. He had three hits, all singles, against Seattle on Sunday but still entered the night hitting .189.
”We all want the results now,” Bradley said. ”Sometimes the game’s a lot tougher than that. You can do everything right and still be out.”
Two-time AL MVP Mike Trout, who began the game batting .387 in June, singled in four at-bats for the Angels while serving as designated hitter to aid his recovery from a sprained right index finger. The Angels went hitless in their last three innings against Boston’s bullpen and fell into fourth place in the AL West for the first time since opening day.
SAFE BETTS
Betts’ homer into the Red Sox bullpen sent right fielder Michael Hermosillo crashing over the wall in pursuit. It was his 15h career leadoff homer, extending his franchise record.
”Trying to set the tone against a good team,” Betts said. ”Just letting them know we’re here and we’re ready to go.”
SACRIFICIAL LAMB
Lamb (0-1) got just five outs. He allowed five runs, three earned Alexander Kerfoot Jersey , on six hits and a pair of walks.
He escaped more damage in the first after Betts’ 20th homer of the season, then was removed in the second after giving up Bradley’s two-run double and two more run-scoring hits.
”It was just a nice welcome to Fenway ballpark I guess by one of the better baseball players in the game right now,” Lamb said. ”I tried to get ahead on the outside part of the plate and they went ahead in the run column.”
Deck McGuire needed just one pitch to end that inning, but he surrendered solo homers to Bradley in the third and Vazquez in the fifth before Martinez hit one in the sixth that made it 8-1.
IN A JAM
Price only had trouble in the third, when Young homered and then the Angels loaded the bases with two out on two singles, a wild pitch and a walk. He retired Albert Pujols on a grounder to third to end the inning.
”Pujols can tie the game at that point,” Price said. ”To get that ground ball is big.”
TRAINER’S ROOM:
Angels: McGuire was checked out by the team athletic trainer after Christian Vazquez lined a ball up the middle in the third inning, but he remained in the game.
Red Sox: Knuckleballer Steven Wright was put on the 10-day DL with left knee inflammation, and RHP reliever Justin Haley was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket.
UP NEXT:
Angels: LHP Andrew Heaney (4-5, 3.43 ERA) gets his first start since going seven innings and allowing one earned run on Friday against Toronto. Heaney has pitched at least seven innings in three of his last four starts.
Red Sox: RHP Rick Porcello (9-3, 3.44) has allowed two earned runs or less in four of his last five starts, holding the Twins to one hit over seven scoreless innings in his last turn on Thursday.
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CLEVELAND — There is no team Edwin Jackson enjoys facing more than the one he will face Saturday afternoon at Progressive Field. The 34-year-old right-hander will be on the mound for the Oakland A’s, facing a Cleveland Indians team Jackson has beaten 10 times in a row.
It’s been more than 10 years since Jackson lost to Cleveland. The last time, and the only time, he lost to the Indians was on Aug. 17, 2007 Authentic Travis Kelce Jersey , when Jackson was pitching for Tampa Bay.
Since then, Jackson is 10-0 against the Indians. In 16 career appearances against Cleveland, Jackson is 10-1 with a 2.76 ERA. His 10 wins against the Indians match his most victories against any opponent. He has also beaten Pittsburgh 10 times.
Jackson’s 10-game winning streak against Cleveland is the longest by any pitcher against the Indians since Charlie Hough won 13 in a row from June 30, 1984, to April 4, 1988.
If all that wasn’t impressive enough, Jackson’s record in eight career appearances at Progressive Field is 5-0 with a 1.90 ERA.
The A’s signed Jackson to a minor league contract in early June, and called him up to the majors on June 23. He is 1-0 with a 2.13 ERA overall this season after making two starts for Oakland.
“Based on the way he was available and the way he’s been able to pitch for us it’s a surprise, but he’s always been able to do that a little bit with the sinker and the four-seamer,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said, according to USA Today.
“Now he just manipulates a little bit more and the off-speed stuff with the changeup speed and the slider. It really keeps you off-balance.”
Jackson’s last start was against the Indians, and it resulted in a 7-2 victory in Oakland on June 30. He pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on two hits, with six strikeouts.
The Indians will start ace Corey Kluber on Saturday. Kluber (12-4, 2.64 ERA) started the season very strong, but has had a couple of tough outings over his last four starts. In his first 14 starts Jake Ryan Jersey , Kluber was 10-2 with a 1.99 ERA. However, in his last four starts he is 2-2, with a 5.95 ERA.
Kluber’s last start was a 9-3 win over Kansas City on Monday, a game in which Kluber pitched six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and no walks.
In two starts against the A’s last year Kluber was 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA. In eight career appearances, including seven starts, against Oakland he is 2-4 with a 2.66 ERA.
The Indians won the first game of the series 10-4 Friday night. In the last two meetings between the two teams Cleveland has outscored Oakland 25-7.
The Indians on Friday designated for assignment reliever George Kontos to clear a roster spot for pitcher Carlos Carrasco, who was activated off the disabled list and started Friday’s game.
The Indians will be adding another player in the not too distant future. The team has signed outfielder Melky Cabrera to a minor league contract as an eventual replacement for outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Tuesday with a left calf strain.
“It’s a significant strain. He’s going to miss considerable time,” said Indians manager Terry Francona.
Cabrera played 17 games with the Indians earlier this season, hitting .207. He was designated for assignment on June 14. He had three hits Thursday in his first game at Triple-A Columbus.
“Three hits in his first game is pretty phenomenal,” Francona said. “We want to let him get his legs under him, but when he signed he knew he wasn’t going to stay (at Columbus) forever. So at some point we’ll have to make a decision (on how to add Cabrera to the major league roster).”