Boston 9, Atlanta 4
When: 4:05 PM ET, Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Where: Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Temperature:
63°
Umpires:
Home -
Victor Carapazza, 1B -
Brian Knight, 2B -
Larry Vanover, 3B -
Ron Kulpa
Attendance:
35662
By The Sports Xchange
BOSTON -- It was a fitting finish for Boston's do-it-all guy.
Brock Holt became the first Red Sox player to hit for the cycle since John Valentin on June 6, 1966, tripling in the eighth inning to cap the rare feat as Boston snapped a season-high, seven-game losing streak with a 9-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday at Fenway Park.
"It goes without saying, any time a guy hits for the cycle he's had a stellar day, and that was a day for Brock," Red Sox manager John Farrell said.
The super utility man, playing second base, singled in the first, doubled in the fifth and homered in the seventh to set himself up for his historic two-out RBI triple to the center field triangle in the eighth.
"Obviously, I knew that I needed a triple," Holt said. "I didn't expect to hit one, but as soon as barrel hit ball, I was, 'Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God.' Once it gets in the triangle, anything's possible. I was just running on my horses and it worked out."
As Holt took a moment to catch his breath, the gravity of the situation started to sink in.
"I tried to soak it all in," he said. "Looked in my dugout, teammates were all pretty pumped, on top of the step. It's pretty special to do this, and to get the win is the biggest thing, but something I'll remember for a while."
Boston's bats sprung to life with 18 hits, the most the team has had in a game this season, and the Red Sox (28-38) avoided their longest losing streak since last summer's eight-game skid.
As if one cycle wasn't enough, Mookie Betts nearly joined Holt. The center fielder fell a home run short of his own cycle, going 3-for-5 with an RBI.
Left fielder Alejandro De Aza (2-for-4) had his biggest game as a Red Sox, driving in three runs, and three other Boston batters had multi-hit efforts.
"In combination to an overall really good offensive day, Wade (Miley) was strong," Farrell said. "On a day we needed a quality start, he gave it to us."
The left-hander had nothing to complain about in this start, tying a season high with eight strikeouts while allowing two earned runs, five hits, and two walks in 6 1/3 innings.
"I kind of put all that stuff behind me from the last start," said Miley (6-6), referring to his screaming match with Farrell in the dugout last Thursday. "I just wanted to go out and try to give the team a chance to win."
The Red Sox got off to a quick start, scoring two runs in the first. Atlanta (31-34) tied the score in the fourth, only to watch Boston break the game open with three runs in the sixth.
Holt hit his home run in the seventh, depositing a ball into the Green Monster seats for a solo shot, and the Red Sox tacked on three runs in the eighth to put the icing on the cake.
"I never expected to hit a ball over the Monster, so that one was pretty cool, too," Holt said.
Julio Teheran (4-3) took the loss and is now winless in his last five starts. The Braves right-hander allowed six earned runs, 13 hits and a walk while striking out one in 6 1/3 innings.
"It seems like he needs to do something against those left-handed hitters; they're just wearing him out," Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "I don't know if he's just leaving balls over the plate. He's got to find something to do to equalize it a little bit."
Braves shortstop Pedro Ciriaco (2-for-4) and catcher A.J. Pierzynski (1-for-2) both had ninth-inning RBI doubles against Red Sox right-hander closer Koji Uehara, who was pitching in a non-save situation.
First baseman Freddie Freeman (1-for-5) had an RBI double and right fielder Nick Markakis (1-for-4) also drove in a run for Atlanta, which completes its home-and-home series against Boston with two games at Turner Field starting Wednesday.
"If we can take care of stuff at home, we'll be all right," Braves second baseman Kelly Johnson said.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| Atlanta
|
10 |
0 |
14 |
.270 |
15 |
11 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| Boston
|
18 |
1 |
32 |
.486 |
12 |
3 |
8 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
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