JBJ shows off quick bat, defense vs. Halos

BOSTON -- Jackie Bradley Jr. is getting his groove back. And baseballs are getting punished by his bat.
The center fielder scorched one just over the visitor's bullpen and into the bleachers for a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to power the Red Sox to a 4-2 win over the Angels on Thursday night at Fenway Park.
Bradley smashed the ball at an exit velocity of 110.1 mph -- his hardest-hit homer ever recorded by Statcast™ -- with a projected distance of 412 feet off righty reliever Noé Ramirez.
"It felt good coming off the bat," Bradley said.

It was the 20th homer for the Red Sox this season against the Angels, extending their MLB record for most ever by one team against another in a season series of six games or fewer. Boston swept all six games Los Angeles this season.
As for Bradley, he is 8-for-14 with three runs, a double, two homers and six RBIs in his last four games. He has four homers in June after hitting just two in the first two months of the season.
"It feels good when you get the results," said Bradley. "When you talk about putting the work in, everyone wants results. This is a results-oriented game, and it feels good to help the team win."
Bradley didn't help make this win possible with just his bat. In the first inning, he created excitement with his glove by banging into the wall while making a spectacular leaping catch to take extra bases away from Justin Upton for the third out.

Did Bradley enjoy the homer or the catch more?
"Both were very pivotal for the game. I'm greedy. I like them both," said Bradley.
What Red Sox manager Alex Cora liked was the smile.
"It's good to see him smile on the field," Cora said. "That's good to see. It got to a point there for a while that he wasn't smiling. Now he's enjoying the game."