Another Sox success story as win streak hits 8

PHILADELPHIA -- The Red Sox have developed an early-season formula for success, one that worked again on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park as they rolled to a 7-4 victory over the Phillies to stretch their winning streak to eight games, the longest in the Majors.

This isn’t deep analytical stuff. It is a no-nonsense approach that their opponents haven’t much of an answer for.

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Typically, Boston’s relentlessly balanced offense knocks the opposing starter out of the game by the early innings. Meanwhile, the Red Sox’s starting pitcher goes five innings -- often exactly five -- and that’s enough to make the sturdy work of the offense stand up.

While clinching another series victory -- this was the sixth they’ve won out of the last seven they’ve played -- the Red Sox knocked Phillies lefty Bailey Falter out of the game with two outs in the top of the fourth inning.

In the 35 games the Red Sox (21-14) have played, they’ve knocked the other team’s starter out before the end of the fourth inning 11 times, an MLB high.

“Yeah, I mean, that’s a credit to the guys,” manager Alex Cora said. “They work hard on their craft. They work hard on their game plan and they’re executing.”

While Sox starter Corey Kluber wasn’t spectacular, he hit the magic number of five innings, yielding seven hits and three runs. That marked the 12th straight game a Boston starter has gone at least five innings.

“I think that the guys, it goes without saying how well they’re swinging the bat right now,” Kluber said. “I think that as a pitching staff, we’re really just trying to minimize the damage and keep us in the ballgame.

“Really just bide our time until they put together a big inning like they did tonight. It seems like every night, they’re doing that at least one time.”

While all facets of a team have to function to achieve an eight-game winning streak -- Boston’s longest since June 25-July 2, 2021 -- it is the offense that is setting the agenda.

Starting pitchers have a 6.36 ERA against the Red Sox, averaging just 4.49 innings per start with a 1.57 WHIP.

And now Rafael Devers, who had a recent slump, is rolling again, making the offense that much harder to stop. Devers smoked three hits in Saturday’s win, including a two-run double to spark a five-run top of the fourth.

“When he starts working the ball the other way, he’s locked in,” Cora said. “And he hit a few rockets that way. He's been attacked with a lot of fastballs lately. If you're gonna attack him with fastballs, you better get it up there because he's gonna swing, we know that.

“But if you don't get it to your spot, he's gonna do damage with it.”

While the performance of Devers is to be expected, the satisfying part of this stretch for the Red Sox is that Cora is rolling different players in and out of the lineup with similar results.

Alex Verdugo, one of the team’s most consistent hitters all season, didn’t play Thursday and Friday due to illness. The Sox rolled anyway.

Masataka Yoshida, in the middle of a 15-game hitting streak, was given a rest on Saturday. Enter Rob Refsnyder, who belted a two-run double to pad the lead in the sixth just as the Phillies had started to draw closer.

The next-man up thing has become a real thing for the Sox.

When Adam Duvall went down with a broken left wrist on April 9, Jarren Duran was called up from the Minors and has played the best baseball of his career.

Just as Yu Chang had stabilized the infield with his plus defense at shortstop and he had been getting hot at the plate, he broke the hamate bone in his left wrist.

Up stepped Enmanuel Valdez, who has been scalding the baseball when he plays.

“That's a good point,” Refsnyder said. “I think we know we have two different lineups, one against lefties and one against righties, and I think guys are kind of settling into their roles and I think it's important. I think every guy likes knowing their role and I think AC does a good job communicating.”

The bullpen, which got save No. 399 from Kenley Jansen on Saturday, has also been doing a strong job.

“There are a lot of parts that are firing right now,” Kluber said. “I think that’s how win streaks tend to happen.”