Red Sox sweep Royals with 15-1 beating, finish homestand unbeaten

Upon returning as manager last November, Alex Cora outlined a number of points the Red Sox needed to do to contend again.

Among them was improving their play at home after they had finished below .500 at Fenway Park in both 2019 and 2020.

“We need to get back to making it fun again here,” Cora said the day he was reintroduced as the manager.

It’s hard to argue that any team is having more fun than the Red Sox right now.

After a tough end to their road trip in Tampa last week, the Red Sox have reclaimed their spot at the top of the division with a dominant week. Behind seven shutout innings from Nathan Eovaldi and a merciless offensive performance, they took care of business against the lowly Royals in a 15-1 laugher on Thursday afternoon at Fenway, as they finished their seven-game homestand unbeaten.

With sweeps over the Yankees and now the Royals, the Red Sox (51-31) have vaulted back to the top of the American League as they head to the west coast for a six-game road trip. They’re 27-17 at home, having won their last eight games at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox set a new season-high in runs scored in a game this season as they feasted on Royals pitching with 17 hits. Every hitter in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit, which included monster days from Rafael Devers and Danny Santana, who combined for six hits, two home runs and 10 RBI.

Kiké Hernandez started the party with a leadoff home run to the Monster seats in the first inning, the third time he’s done so in his last five games. His teammates soon followed his lead. They put up two four-spots in the fourth and fifth inning as they kept the line moving and put the game away rather easily.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3why1za