By Matt Dolloff, 985TheSportsHub.com
The Red Sox got their second half off to a strong start with a win over the Dodgers on Friday. But L.A. battled back to take the next two, finishing off their World Series rematch with a 7-4 win in 12 innings at Fenway Park on Sunday.
Max Muncy walked against the Red Sox’ Hector Velazquez to give the Dodgers the eventual game-winning run in the top of the 12th to spark an ugly inning for the reliever. Velazquez started the inning by walking Joc Pederson, then interfered with Cody Bellinger to allow him to reach first base. A.J. Pollock singled to load the bases, then the scoring started.
The Dodgers grabbed their other two runs via a line drive by Alex Verdugo and an RBI groundout by Russell Martin. Velazquez struck out Austin Barnes to close the inning, but the damage had been done.
Former Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly struck out Andrew Benintendi, Brock Holt, and Jackie Bradley Jr. in order to close the game, earning his first save of the season.
The loss spoiled an exciting comeback for the Red Sox, who got back-to-back home runs from Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game 4-4 at the time. Bogaerts homered for the fourth time in five games to maintain his team lead in homers (20) over Martinez (19). The All-Star shortstop is 11-for-34 (.324) with 4 home runs and 14 RBIs in eight July games.
But now, the Red Sox are left having to rebound from another series loss against a team over .500. They are 17-25 on the season against teams that over .500 entering Monday.
Up Next: The Red Sox (50-43) will look to get back on track Monday night with the start of a four-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays (35-59) at Fenway.
Matt Dolloff is a digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff or email him at matthew.dolloff@bbgi.com.