BOSTON (AP) — Rafael Devers homered, Michael Wacha pitched into the sixth inning and the Boston Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-0 on Tuesday night.
J.D. Martinez added a solo homer in the eighth to help seal it for Boston, which held the slumping Angels to three hits in its second shutout of the season.
The Red Sox got nine hits and ended a two-game skid in their first game at home since struggling through a 3-7 road trip.
“We hit the ball hard again. We were hunting pitches in the zone,” manager Alex Cora said. “We got pitches. We put good swings on them. It was a good beginning. We played good defense and it’s good to win the first one of the series.”
Noah Syndergaard (2-1) had a solid start for Los Angeles, throwing 100 pitches on a chilly night and holding the Red Sox to three runs and eight hits over seven innings. But the Angels didn’t give him any run support, squandering the few chances they had by grounding into three double plays.
Los Angeles was shut out for the second straight day and third time in four games, getting blanked twice in a weekend series against the White Sox.
Wacha (3-0) allowed only singles by Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout and Max Stassi. Jake Diekman and Ryan Brasier preserved the shutout until Hirokazu Sawamura took over in the ninth, striking out Ohtani to end it.
“I was able to make quality pitches early on and early in the count,” Wacha said. “I was able to get some weak contact and let the defense play behind me. I mean, they were playing great. … It was fun to watch them work.”
Devers broke the scoreless tie with a leadoff homer in the fourth, driving the first pitch from Syndergaard deep into the seats in center field. It was the fourth of the season for Devers, who has at least one hit in 21 of Boston’s 24 games.
“If I could…
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