The Boston Red Sox broke out the bats for a thrilling 11-run inning to put away the Miami Marlins in an eventual 14-6 slugfest.
Remember when we were concerned about the Boston Red Sox being in a rut? Those days seem long gone. If a thrilling walk-off win to kick off the week wasn’t enough, the lineup burst out of their collective slump with a dominant victory over the Miami Marlins.
The win was highlighted by an epic 7th inning in which the Red Sox sent 15 men to the plate and scored 11 runs on 12 hits. It’s the first time this club has collected 10+ hits and 10+ runs in a single inning since June 27, 2003, against the Marlins at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox scored 11 runs on 12 hits in the 7th inning. The only other time since 1984 they recorded 10+ hits and scored 10+ runs in an inning was June 27, 2003, against the Marlins at Fenway Park (14 runs on 13 hits, bottom 1st).
— J.P. Long (@SoxNotes) August 30, 2018
Maybe we need to invite the Marlins to Fenway more often.
Five different hitters collected two hits in the inning. That includes Blake Swihart, who came off the bench to pinch-hit for Sandy Leon as the third batter of the inning. Eduardo Nunez led off the inning with a base hit and added an RBI single later in the frame. Ian Kinsler had two hits in the inning. He now has multiple hits in two consecutive games and in three of his last five. Jackie Bradley had two hits to raise his season average to .230! Fine, that’s still not great but it’s the highest average JBJ has owned since April.
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Then there is Mookie Betts, who had two hits in the inning and three for the game. He raised his average to .340, surpassing teammate J.D. Martinez for the league-lead. Betts also homered in the third inning to snap a season-long 17 game home run draught. It seems Mookie has broken out of his brief slump to recapture his MVP form.
Surprisingly, none of the hits in that 7th inning left the ballpark but there were plenty of extra-base hits. The Red Sox tallied four doubles and a triple in the inning.
That three-bagger came off the bat of Brock Holt, who pinch-hit for Steve Pearce. For a team that typically doesn’t like to pinch-hit, the Red Sox received great production off their bench in this game. Holt collected another hit in the 8th inning, capping a two-hit day in which he only played three innings.
The Red Sox became the first team in MLB history to record a hit in 12 consecutive at-bats. Five batters reached base on a hit to lead off the inning, followed by a sac bunt by Andrew Benintendi (which seems wildly unnecessary in retrospect). A sacrifice doesn’t count as an at-bat, therefore the streak remained intact.
In the 7th inning last night, the Red Sox became the 1st team in MLB history to record a hit in 12 consecutive at-bats in an inning: single, double, single, double, double, sac bunt, triple, intentional BB, single, single, single, double, single, single (source: @EliasSports).
— J.P. Long (@SoxNotes) August 30, 2018
That was followed by seven more hits with a Martinez walk mixed in before the inning mercifully ended when Benintendi hit into a double-play. That’s right, Benny was responsible for all three outs in the inning. He was 0-for-3 with a walk in the game, making him the only Red Sox player to both start and finish the game without recording a hit.
The Red Sox are back to performing like the team with the best record and best offense in baseball. They will look to carry this momentum with them on their upcoming seven-game road trip.
With difficult matchups with the Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians looming in September, it’s great to see this lineup heating up again. Now, about that pitching staff…