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Alex Cora has long talked about the fact that Jackie Bradley Jr. has been unlucky at home this season, but that does not mean the Red Sox have not worked to try to fix his problems.
While Bradley's batting average has consistently remained below .200, the center fieldman has continued to refine his mechanics and approach by hitting coach Tim Hyers, and has remained patient, knowing his time will come eventually.
It could be just two games, but Bradley seems to have found some luck.
After getting a 3-in-3 record in Sunday's win against the Mariners, Bradley picked up where he had stopped at the opening of the series tonight against the Angels. He was 3-in-4, which included a solo circuit, and led in four points, while David Price was more than satisfying on the mound in the 9-1 Red Sox win at Fenway Park.
For Bradley, it was the first time this season that he had two consecutive hit games. The average is still just .199, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.
Of course, it helped John Lamb to be on the mound for the Angels. The Red Sox jumped early on him, and the southpaw could not get out of the second run.
The first pitch of Lamb's game set the tone, Mookie Betts crushing an 89 mph four-vapor in the right enclosure – and out of reach of Michael Hermosillo, who dipped over the wall – for his 20th race of the season.
In the second, the Red Sox opened the doors, with the help of Angels.
Eduardo Nunez started with a single before second baseman Ian Kinsler mismanaged Rafael Devers' shot on the ground. Twice later, after Christian Vazquez moved the riders to a track, Bradley took Lamb's cutter and lined it to the left to score Nunez and Devers.
Bradley seemed to stop early before moving on to second place, but he was still judged a double. He'll take it anyway.
The lamb has never recovered. He walked Betts before Andrew Benintendi hit a double left to score Bradley. Two hitters later, Xander Bogaerts was deliberately crushed to charge the bases before Mitch Moreland reached a mere inside to score Betts. It was all for Lamb.
The price worked well despite a third rocky round. He crossed the top two on a mere 19 pitches, but got into trouble in the third. Former Red Sox fielder, Chris Young, took him down before charging goals on two singles to Kinsler and Mike Trout and a walk to Justin Upton. But he did not let Albert Pujols do any damage, forcing him to take the lead to end the round.
Price threw a third-place finish of 34 points, helping to end his night early. The left handed six innings, allowing five hits and eliminating seven before giving way to the bullpen.
The offensive has done more than enough anyway. In the third, Bradley found some of that luck as he hooked up on a quick shot from Deck McGuire who barely cleared the Green Monster for his fifth round of the season to extend the lead Red Sox at 6-1. The homer had a probability of only 20%, according to Statcast.
In the fifth, Vazquez smoked a solo home race on the monster, then in sixth, J.D. Martinez won his 24th home win of the season in the center-right to make 8-1.
After Blake Swihart scored and Vazquez doubled to place the runners in second and third place, Bradley continued his winning streak in seventh, when he managed a first shot at center that scored Swihart.
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