Red Sox 4, Dodgers 3

 

That's the way you do it! The Boston Red Sox win the home series against the L.A. Dodgers, taking two games out of three, including this afternoon's 4-3 win. 

Walker Buehler was pulled in the fifth after striking out the first two batters but with 104 pitches. Brennan Bernardino came on in relief and promptly gave up a double and then walked a batter before getting the third out, but wound up getting the win for the game. 

The Sox took a one-run lead in the first with a Trevor Story sacrifice fly, but the fireworks were mostly in the fifth with a Roman Anthony triple and a two-run Alex Bregman homer, his 13th of the season.  

With today's win, the Sox are 57-50, one game back from second-place New York, and 6½ behind division-leading Toronto.  They're a half-game ahead of Seattle in the Wild Card standings.

The Sox are through one of the toughest stretches of their schedule this year. Since the All-Star Break, the team went 1-2 against the Chicago Cubs and 1-2 against the Phillies, and now 2-1 against the Dodgers.  After that grueling start to the second half of the season, the team is over .500 and in the Wild Card standings. 

We survived, so far, and get a slight break next with a three-game road trip to Minnesota (50-55) before returning home to host the Astros. Fitts (1-4, 4.86) will try to turn his season around with a start tomorrow against the Twins' Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 4.14). This will be the first time this year Boston batters face Richardson. 

We need to keep the momentum going and sweep those Twins in their home park.