Papi, Sox romp as Miley finishes off Phils
BOSTON -- David Ortiz went deep, Wade Miley went the distance and the Red Sox relied on a huge inning to secure a 9-2 win over the Phillies on Saturday at Fenway Park.
Miley allowed both runs on five hits and tallied eight punchouts in the first complete-game effort of his career, improving his record to 11-10 in the process. The left-hander carried a perfect game into the fifth before Jeff Francoeur ended his bid with a bloop single. More >
"He was just on the attack from the first inning on," said Red Sox interim manager Torey Lovullo. "A little bit of a hiccup after we had the eight-run inning. There was a little bit of a pause there. But all in all, that was the only time he got nicked up. He was in control of all of his innings, pitch count-wise. A complete effort by him."
Ortiz mashed career home run No. 496 around the Pesky Pole in the fourth inning, the slugger's fourth in eight games, to cap off an eight-run outburst by Boston.
Video: PHI@BOS: Ortiz clocks 30th home run of the season
Phillies rookie Alec Asher faded early in his second Major League start and finished charged with seven runs, eight hits and two balks in 3 2/3 innings. Right-hander Jerome Williams completed 3 1/3 frames of one-run ball in mop-up duty. Catcher Carlos Ruiz provided the only Philly offense with a two-run single in the fifth.
"Asher [was] up in the zone. No command of his secondary pitches," Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said. "In his defense, it's his second Major League start, in Fenway Park. So there's something to that. It's a big deal for him."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Bogaerts with Little League grand slam: The box score will show that Xander Bogaerts had a three-run double in the bottom of the fourth inning. But the scoring output on the play was the same as a grand slam. Bogaerts punched one down the line in right, and Cesar Hernandez made an error while trying to get Brock Holt out at the plate. As the throw rolled to the backstop, Bogaerts roared in, following a headfirst dive by Holt with one of his own as the crowd went wild. More >
Video: PHI@BOS: Bogaerts hits a Little League grand slam
"I was on third so I was going to score easily and I was just kind of waiting at home plate to see if I was going to have to tell any runners to get down or stay up," Jackie Bradley Jr. said. "Xander made a great slide. The ball actually beat him. He made a very acrobatic-type slide to get around the catcher."
More: Bogaerts punctuates Little League slam with stylish slide
Rookie rocked: After only giving up one hit in his first time through the Boston order, Asher quickly collapsed in his second go-round, allowing seven of the nine batters he faced to reach base in the fourth. Asher's outing came to an end when Bogaerts cleared the bases and left him still searching for his first career win at 0-2. More >
"I thought the first three innings went really well," Asher said. "I started elevating the ball a little too much that last inning and it came back to hurt me."
Video: PHI@BOS: Hernandez throws home to get the force
Milestones galore for Papi: Ortiz curled a homer down the line in right for his 30th homer of the season. It was Ortiz's ninth 30-homer campaign for the Red Sox, passing Ted Williams for the most in club history. The 39-year-old Ortiz also passed Williams as the oldest player in Red Sox history to club 30 homers. Ortiz is now four away from 500. More >
"We're all engaged every time he comes to the plate," Lovullo said. "It's an exciting time, no matter what we try to say to downplay it. He's reaching a pretty impressive milestone. He is a great leader and a great friend to everybody on this team. It makes it just a little more special because of who he is and what he means to everyone."
Giles in a jam: Coming into the game with the bases loaded and one out, Phillies closer Ken Giles did his best to make the most of a non-save situation by inducing groundouts from Bogaerts, which scored an inherited runner, and Ortiz. It was the 24-year-old's first appearance in seven days.
"I wanted to get him in the game," Mackanin said. "That's the best thing that worked out for us, he only threw six pitches and he got some work on the mound."
Video: PHI@BOS: Miley fans eight, goes the distance
QUOTABLE
"I've seen Miley before. That's the best I've seen him. He pitches extremely well. Nine innings, worked fast, changed speeds, used both sides of the plate, kept the ball down. He did a great job." -- Mackanin
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Bradley is on a tear, and 18 of his last 25 hits were for extra bases (12 doubles, one triple, five homers). Over his last six games, Bradley is hitting .556 and slugging 1.000.
Video: PHI@BOS: Bradley Jr. plates a pair with a double
WHAT'S NEXT
Phillies: Right-hander Jerad Eickhoff takes the mound Sunday at Fenway Park as the Phillies wrap up a six-game road trip. Eickhoff, who has worked at least six innings in each of his first three Major League starts, is 1-2 with a 2.84 ERA. He will be the third Phils rookie to start in this series.
Red Sox: Lefty Eduardo Rodriguez will close out this three-game series against the Phillies in the final Interleague matchup of the season for the Red Sox. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET. Rodriguez got the win his last time out, holding the Yankees to seven hits and two runs over five innings.
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