Boston designated hitter J.D. Martinez, right, is congratulated by Kike Hernandez after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning Tuesday night against the Angels at Fenway Park. Mary Schwalm/Associated Press
BOSTON — Rafael Devers homered, Michael Wacha pitched into the sixth inning and the Boston Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-0 on Tuesday night.
J.D. Martinez added a solo homer in the eighth to help seal it for Boston, which held the slumping Angels to three hits in its second shutout of the season.
The Red Sox got nine hits and ended a two-game skid in their first game at home since struggling through a 3-7 trip.
“We hit the ball hard again. We were hunting pitches in the zone,” Manager Alex Cora said. “We got pitches. We put good swings on them. It was a good beginning. We played good defense and it’s good to win the first one of the series.”
Noah Syndergaard (2-1) had a solid start for Los Angeles, throwing 100 pitches on a chilly night and holding the Red Sox to three runs and eight hits over seven innings. But the Angels didn’t give him any run support, squandering the few chances they had by grounding into three double plays.
Los Angeles was shut out for the second straight day and third time in four games, getting blanked twice in a weekend series against the White Sox.
Wacha (3-0) allowed only singles by Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout and Max Stassi. Jake Diekman and Ryan Brasier preserved the shutout until Hirokazu Sawamura took over in the ninth, striking out Ohtani to end it.
“I was able to make quality pitches early on and early in the count,” Wacha said. “I was able to get some weak contact and let the defense play behind me. I mean, they were playing great. … It was fun to watch them work.”
Devers broke the scoreless tie with a leadoff homer in the fourth, driving the first pitch from Syndergaard deep into the seats in center field. It was the fourth of the season for Devers, who has at least one hit in 21 of Boston’s 24 games.
“If I could have that one back, I probably wouldn’t have thrown that pitch,” Syndergaard said.
Syndergaard walked Xander Bogaerts after Devers’ homer, and a single by Martinez helped set up another run on a soft grounder by Kike Hernandez that scored Bogaerts.
Syndergaard didn’t allow another run until the seventh, when Franchy Cordero and Kevin Plawecki opened with back-to-back singles and Trevor Story delivered a sacrifice fly.
Wacha got a warm ovation when he was pulled with a runner on second and two outs in the sixth. He walked two and struck out two.
Devers’ homer extended his hitting streak to nine games.
NOTES: Jackie Bradley Jr., back with the Red Sox after a forgettable season in Milwaukee last year, snapped an 0-for-11 skid when he doubled off the Green Monster in the third. He also led off the fifth with another double. Bradley entered the game batting .147 and was up to .169 after going 2 for 3.
“Whatever he can bring offensively will be great. We know he can do that,” Cora said. “If the bottom part of the lineup can do their part and get on base like they did today . it’s a different lineup.”
Boston recalled LHP Josh Taylor (lower back strain) from a rehab assignment in the minors, although Cora said it’s still unclear when Taylor could be coming out of the bullpen again because of a “setback” during his rehab. “We’re going through testing and all that stuff,” Cora said. “We’ll know more later in the week.”
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