Boston Red Sox vs Philadelphia Phillies Match Player Stats On Jun 14, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Jun 14, 2017

PHILADELPHIA -- A change in cities didn't make a difference as the Boston Red Sox downed the Philadelphia Phillies for the third straight game, scoring five runs in the first two innings and coming away with a 7-3 victory at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday night.

Mookie Betts powered the Red Sox offense, going 4-for-5 with two home runs, three RBIs and four runs scored. In falling a triple short of the cycle, the right fielder raised his average to .280 while becoming the first Boston player this season with double-digit home runs (11).

Both home runs were of the solo variety -- one in the fourth inning and one in the ninth for his team's final two runs of the night.

It's the eighth win in 11 games for Boston, moving the Red Sox a season-best nine games above .500 (37-28). Their last three have come against the MLB-worst Phillies (21-43), who saw their losing streak extended to eight in a row.

After the teams played 11 innings Monday and 12 Tuesday in two games in Boston, the Red Sox tried to make sure early on that no more than nine innings would be needed as the matchup continued a couple hundred miles down I-95.

Boston plated two runners in the first inning and three in the second against Phillies starter Jeremy Hellickson (5-5), getting an RBI double from Xander Bogaerts in the first and a two-run single from the shortstop in the second to open up a 5-0 lead.

Boston starter Brian Johnson, who cruised through the first two innings in 23 pitches, didn't make it out of third Wednesday night. The left-hander, making his fourth start of the season at the major league level, gave up three runs on four hits over a span of six batters in the third inning, including a two-run homer off the bat of Phillies right fielder Aaron Altherr that cut it to 5-3.

Johnson departed because of "discomfort" in his throwing shoulder after the next batter doubled.

Red Sox reliever Hector Velasquez (1-1) was stout in relief, pitching 3 1/3 innings of scoreless ball to come away with his first career victory.

Hellickson made it through the first batter of the sixth inning, giving up a double to Sandy Leon, before he was pulled after 93 pitches as he struggled yet again. In taking his fourth loss in his last five starts, Hellickson gave up six runs on nine hits, walking three while striking out one.

Since ending April with a 4-0 record and a 1.80 ERA, Hellickson is 1-5 with a 6.89 ERA.

NOTES: The Phillies and Red Sox will conclude their four-game, two-city series Thursday, with Boston RHP Chris Sale (8-2, 2.97 ERA) going up against Philadelphia rookie RHP Nick Pivetta (1-3, 5.52 ERA). ... Phillies 1B Tommy Joseph extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a third-inning double. He's batting .375 over that span. ... Boston relievers have not given up a run in their last 21 1/3 innings. ... The Phillies are 0-8 in interleague play this season. Since interleague play began in 1997, Philadelphia's 153-200 record is the third worst in baseball.