Sizzling Pearce rips first homer with Red Sox

BOSTON -- Steve Pearce has done nothing but rake since joining the Red Sox 10 days ago. And on Monday, he belted his first home run with his new team to get a seven-game homestand off to a strong start.
The blast by Pearce helped power the Red Sox to a 5-0 victory over the Rangers.
Adding to the enjoyment for Pearce is that it was his first Fenway Park at-bat as a member of the Sox.
The veteran right-handed hitter mashed the seventh pitch of his at-bat -- a 94.8-mph fastball from Rangers lefty Mike Minor -- into the Monster Seats in left.
"Well, you know, it was a very fortunate at-bat, I'll tell you that," Pearce said. "Dramatic. Worked a good count and was able to put good wood on it and give us an early lead."
Pearce is now 11-for-24 for the Red Sox with four doubles, five RBIs and a 1.231 OPS. He became the first Red Sox player to hit a homer in his first Fenway at-bat for the team since Daniel Nava clocked a grand slam in his MLB debut in 2010.
"It feels good, especially that we're winning on top of that," Pearce said. "That's a good feeling every day."
The idea behind the acquisition of Pearce is that he would be a weapon against left-handed pitchers.
"He can hit," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "We always talk about him hitting lefties, but he has a pretty good idea. He's been a pro. We can use him in different spots in the lineup. He's going to give you a quality at-bat. He's been swinging the bat well for a while now, since he's healthy."
This was Pearce's second career homer at Fenway. The first was July 17, 2017, for the Blue Jays against Eduardo Rodriguez. In Monday's game, Pearce gave Rodriguez a 2-0 lead with his dinger.

"He is a solid Major League baseball player," said Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez, who put the game away with a late three-run blast. "He does a lot of things well. He's definitely a great piece to have in the middle of a lineup like this. He's a guy that's had success for a number of years now."