With how this series unfolded, the Braves might petition for the Red Sox to move to the National League East.
Roughly 24 hours following Marcell Ozuna’s three-homer game, Adam Duvall belted three home runs of his own in the Braves’ 7-5 win over the Red Sox on Wednesday. It completed their first sweep in Boston since 2002.
Duvall and Ozuna became the only teammates in history to post three-homer games on back-to-back games, per Elias. The Yankees’ Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig also did it in back-to-back days in 1930, but it involved doubleheaders.
“I thought that was pretty cool,” Duvall said. “It’s pretty neat. I thought rounding the bases that it was pretty crazy that it just happened last night. I wasn’t thinking that was the first time it’d happened, as far as teammates hitting three homers. … I thought it was pretty cool that it’d just happened last night.”
In additional history, no NL player had homered three times in a game at Fenway Park before the Braves visited this week. When they left, it’d been achieved twice.
Duvall started quickly, hitting a two-run shot off Mike Kickham in the second inning to cut the Braves’ deficit to 3-2. He added another two-run homer in the sixth that knotted the game at 5-5.
When Duvall was in the on-deck circle before his final at-bat in the eighth, he tried not to think about going for the hat trick. But he couldn’t avoid a reminder.
“The bat boy, when I was on deck, said, ‘Are you going for the trifecta?’ ” Duvall said. “I didn’t really even want to think about it so I just laughed it off. I felt good going up there. I felt like I was seeing the ball all night. I felt like I was going to put the barrel on it and see where it goes.”
Duvall swung at the first pitch he saw from Ryan Brasier, sending the ball over the wall in center. It was the first three-homer game of the slugger’s career – and it occurred during his first trip to Fenway Park.
“We even got a couple of the balls back, so I’ll have something to show my son and put in the man cave,” Duvall said.
Ozuna had a homer left in him, as well. He hit a solo blast in the seventh that gave the Braves a 6-5 lead. With four homers in two nights, Ozuna has 12 on the season, trailing only Fernando Tatis Jr. and Nelson Cruz for the major-league lead (13).
Duvall and Ozuna combined for eight homers in the past two nights. As a result, the Braves avoided even a single loss to the Red Sox, who are among baseball’s worst teams.
Winning the games you’re supposed to is an even more crucial element during a shortened season. The Braves have excelled at it thus far. That’s why they’ve spent 30 days in first place and are a season-best eight games over .500.
“We’re playing good baseball right now,” Duvall said. “Our guys lay it all on the line. It’s fun to play with them, it’s fun to be around them. It feels like everybody is pulling on the same side of the rope. Even in a 60-game season, that’s super important because I think we thrive off each other.”
Credit: Charles Krupa
Credit: Charles Krupa
Notes from Wednesday:
- The Braves finished the road trip 4-2 despite losing the first two games. They rebounded to win the finale in Philadelphia on Sunday night and swept Boston to improve their road record to 10-10.
“It didn’t look good early,” manager Brian Snitker said. “We had the big win on Sunday, holding the Phillies off. This is a tough place (Boston) to come and (sweep). Their lineup, they got rid of a couple guys before we got here, but there are some dangerous hitters on that club.”
- Starter Robbie Erlin struggled in the first inning, putting the Braves in a 3-0 hole. Fortunately for them, their offense had little trouble climbing out of the deficit. The lefty allowed five runs on six hits in only four innings.
Snitker credited Erlin for stabilizing himself enough to cover four frames, but it’s fair to wonder if his time in the rotation is running short. Kyle Wright is on the same schedule at the alternate training site, and with his encouraging progress, the Braves might soon give Wright another opportunity.
- If the Braves don’t have the best bullpen in the majors, their group is top two. Once again, the unit gave the Braves a chance to come back. Darren O’Day, Tyler Matzek, Shane Greene, Chris Martin and Mark Melancon held the Red Sox to one hit over five innings. The combination struck out nine and walked only one.
“How they’ve handed it off to one another, all of them, it was a great job,” Snitker said.
- First baseman Freddie Freeman wasted little time extending his hitting streak. Freeman singled in the first inning, pushing his run to 16 games. It’s tied for the third-longest streak of his career and over halfway to his best run (30 games).
- The Braves are off Thursday before beginning a stretch of 14 games in 13 days without a break. That run starts with a doubleheader against the Nationals on Friday, when the Braves plan to start Josh Tomlin and Tommy Milone in the pair of seven-inning contests.
