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It was a historic night at Fenway Park. In one fell swoop, the Red Sox clinched both a franchise win record (106) and home-field advantage throughout the 2018 playoffs. The
6-2 victory was decisive and clear—with the offense and starting pitching meshing in a way that will be needed in October.
Nathan Eovaldi went five solid innings—giving up just four hits and one earned run, while striking out ten.
Mookie Betts clouted his 32nd home run of the year (2-5), which doubled Boston's lead at the time to 4-0. Both
Xander Bogaerts and
Andrew Benintendi also chipped in two hits apiece in Boston's 10-hit attack. The win seemed almost inevitable—as the truly pathetic Orioles offer very little resistance these days. With everything wrapped up, manager
Alex Cora can now selectively "rest" his regulars and set-up the playoff pitching rotation to exact maximum value in the ALDS.
