Boston Red Sox’s Bobby Dalbec, Alex Verdugo and Xander Bogaerts, from left, celebrate after a three-run triple by Jackie Bradley Jr. during the eighth inning of the team’s baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Wednesday, June 1, 2022, at Fenway Park in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) AP
BOSTON — Garrett Whitlock pitched six strong innings and Jackie Bradley Jr. drove in four runs to help the Boston Red Sox beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-1 on Wednesday night.
“Good,” Whitlock said of his outing. “A lot of quick outs, and me and (catcher Christian Vazquez) were on the same page.”
Whitlock (2-1) allowed five hits and one unearned run before two relievers completed the seven-hitter.
“Really good, efficient, kept the ball down, kept them off balance, we played good defense behind him,” said Red Sox Manager Alex Cora of Whitlock’s outing.
Boston got to Hunter Greene (2-7) in the fourth inning. Greene struck out seven batters in the first three innings before the Red Sox broke through.
“He has electric stuff,” Bradley said of Greene. “He can sit at 100 mph. He was able to locate pitches. He kept us off-balance early, and we were able to settle in and make some adjustments.”
Rafael Devers opened the fourth with a double. J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts followed with singles and Alex Verdugo had a run-scoring double. Two outs later, Bradley singled home Verdugo ending Greene’s evening. He gave up four runs in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out eight.
“Honestly, for me tonight, I lost the focus on staying present,” Greene said. “I felt very present in the first three innings. I slowly started to drift away in that next inning, in the fourth … That’s going to happen, but trying to lock back in as quick as possible is what I wanted to do. Unfortunately, that was a little more of a challenge tonight. I don’t want to think of it as an excuse, but looking back, I think that was a part of the issue in the fourth, trying to stay as present as possible.”
Boston added three more runs in the eighth inning off right-hander Jeff Hoffman, who issued three one-out walks to Bogaerts, Verdugo and Story (intentional). Bradley followed with a bases-clearing triple.
NOTES
Boston Red Sox closer Matt Barnes was placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, and left-hander Matt Strahm was activated from the COVID-19 IL prior to a game against Cincinnati.
An All-Star in 2021, Barnes struggled down the stretch last season and has failed to regain his best form this year. The 31-year-old has a 7.94 ERA in 20 appearances, going 0-3 with two saves.
Strahm is 2-2 with a 3.68 ERA in 18 games this season.
The bullpen is a major reason why the Red Sox are stuck in fourth place in the AL East, with the club’s relievers combining for a 3.96 ERA, ranked 10th in the AL.
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