The Boston Red Sox have numerous reasons to be happy as they enter Tuesday night’s matchup with the visiting Los Angeles Angels.
Near the top of the list may be how the lower part of Boston’s batting order performed on Monday, as the Red Sox (80-65) extended their winning streak to five games with a 5-2 victory over the Angels.
Boston’s Nos. 6-9 hitters — Caleb Durbin, Jarren Duran, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Eli White — combined to go 7-for-14 with two walks, two RBIs and three runs.
Durbin collected two hits, including a double. It was his first extra-base hit since he hit a grand slam on Aug. 13 in Toronto.
It’s been a frustrating season at the plate for Duran, but he kicked off the scoring with a solo home run in the second inning.
“It felt really good, man,” Duran told WEEI radio after the game. “I can’t mention enough about my teammates having my back all the time. Before the game today, they were hyping me up, reminding me that I’m a good player and I just have to trust it. I just happened to hit a homer, and the boys were going nuts for me.”
The big blow for Boston was Adley Rutschman’s three-run homer on a Grayson Rodriguez fastball with two outs and two strikes in the second inning. Rodriguez and Rutschman are former teammates in Baltimore.
“We have guys all over the team who not only control the strike zone but are able to do damage on pitches in (the strike zone),” Rutschman said. “The last couple days we haven’t done a ton of damage on those pitches, but we’ve controlled the zone really well, had timely hitting. This team has a lot of different ways to beat you. We’ve been throwing the ball really well, and it’s been fun, man.”
It was Rutschman’s fourth home run since the Orioles traded him to Boston on Aug. 3.
“In that moment, the fastball is the best pitch to me,” Rodriguez said. “It probably could have been up and away, up and in. He’s a good hitter, man. Caught me for a long time. Kind of weird seeing him in the box in a different uniform.”
Offense continues to be a problem for the Angels (54-90), who have lost 12 of their last 14 games. Los Angeles has failed to score more than three runs in 11 of those 12 losses.
Moises Ballesteros collected three of the Angels’ six hits on Monday, including a solo home run. Los Angeles struck out 15 times.
The Angels loaded the bases with two outs in the third, but Ballesteros hit a pop-up for the inning’s final out.
“It (was) actually a good at-bat,” Los Angeles manager Kurt Suzuki said. “I think it was a changeup — it might have been a back-door. Something offspeed he kind of got under. But his other at-bats were pretty consistent.”
Monday’s loss eliminated the Angels from postseason contention. It’s the 12th consecutive season Los Angeles has missed the playoffs, which is the longest streak in MLB.
Tuesday’s pitching matchup will feature left-handers Reid Detmers (4-8, 3.44 ERA) of Los Angeles and Patrick Sandoval (1-4, 4.41) of Boston.
Detmers is 3-2 with a 2.72 ERA in 10 career appearances (six starts) against the Red Sox.
It will be Sandoval’s first appearance vs. the Angels, a team he played for from 2019-24.
–Field Level Media
