Morning Sports Update Alex Cora discussed the approach behind the Red Sox offense’s recent surge Boston currently ranks second in the league in runs scored. Rafael Devers celebrates with Jarren Duran after his home run in the eighth inning. AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
The Red Sox completed the four-game sweep of the Blue Jays on Wednesday with an 11-5 win. Masataka Yoshida led off with a home run, extending his current hitting streak to 14 games.
Tonight, the Red Sox begin a three-game series in Philadelphia against the Phillies at 7:05 p.m.
The Celtics are also in Philadelphia for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the 76ers at 7:30 p.m. The series is tied 1-1.
Alex Cora on the Red Sox lineup: One of the driving factors in the Red Sox’ six-game winning streak has been offensive production from up and down the team’s lineup.
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Boston trails only American League East opponents Tampa Bay in runs scored, on-base percentage, and team batting average. The Red Sox are third in OPS.
This was an important part of Thursday’s win over Toronto. Facing right-hander Kevin Gausman (who was 3-0 against Boston in 2022 and entered the game with a 2.33 ERA), Red Sox manager Alex Cora credited his team’s mentality at the plate.
“We grinded out at-bats, not too many swings and misses, and we swung at strikes,” Cora told reporters according to MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “We put pressure on him on the bases.”
Cora also contrasted the approach (and execution) in comparison with previous seasons.
“We did that before in ‘18 and ‘19 against him and today I think we had the personnel to do that compared to last year,” he said. “We got on, and we were looking to put pressure on him.”
Gausman struggled through 3.1 innings, surrendering eight runs on 10 hits. Cora praised his team’s patient process.
“It’s not about winning the inning by scoring runs,” Cora noted, per Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe. “If we don’t score runs, so be it. But if it’s a long inning for him and he has to grind, hopefully we can get him out of the game early enough and get to the bullpen.”
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As the Red Sox now head on the road for the next two series, the Boston manager succinctly summarized his team’s 5-1 record in the recent run at Fenway Park.
“Overall, a great game, a great series, a great homestand.”
Trivia: There have been 44 hitting streaks at least 20 games in length in Red Sox history. Six Boston players achieved the feat multiple times. Can you name them?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: Their initials are TS, NG, MR, WB, FL, and DD.
More from Boston.com:
Rafael Devers came as close as possible to another home run on Thursday: He eventually got one in the eighth inning.
On this day: In 1981, the Celtics defeated the Rockets in Game 1 of the NBA Finals 98-95, and Larry Bird pulled off one of the more memorable plays of his career.
#OTD in 1981, Larry Legend pulled off this unreal put-back in the NBA Finals! ☘️ pic.twitter.com/f8RGLeoXlu — NBA TV (@NBATV) May 5, 2021
Daily highlight: After getting a great jump, Kiké Hernández extended to make a diving catch.
You’ll be seeing this in a lot of highlight reels. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/d03GA7ylMn — Red Sox (@RedSox) May 5, 2023
Trivia answer: Tris Speaker, Nomar Garciaparra, Manny Ramirez, Wade Boggs, Fred Lynn, and Dom DiMaggio.