Masataka Yoshida slammed his first home run of the season, one among three homers hit by the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, leading them to a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
Yoshida, serving as the designated hitter, launched his homer off reliever José Suarez in the sixth inning, bringing in a runner. Tyler O’Neill and Triston Casas also contributed with back-to-back home runs in the first inning against left-hander Tyler Anderson (2-1).
Red Sox manager Alex Cora noted, “The pitch count was up, and we took advantage of Suarez out there with Masa. It was a good one, good game plan.”
Anderson, who had pitched seven scoreless innings in each of his first two starts, struggled this time, going 4 1/3 innings and allowing three runs on four hits and three walks (one intentional) with four strikeouts.
Reflecting on his performance, Anderson said, “I couldn’t land good pitches, and they did a good job of a couple of mistakes in the middle. They put good swings on.”
The Angels tried to narrow the gap with Brandon Drury’s solo home run in the second inning, his first of the season, off Boston starter Brayan Bello (2-1). Bello pitched 5 1/3 innings, conceding two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out eight.
Closing the game, Kenley Jansen secured his fourth save of the season, bringing his career total to 424, tying him with John Franco for the fifth-most saves in major league history.
Despite a shaky ninth inning where Jansen allowed the first three batters to reach base, he managed to hold off the Angels, conceding only a run on Anthony Rendon’s sacrifice fly before striking out Luis Rengifo and Mike Trout to seal the win.
Angels manager Ron Washington commented, “We did better today. All we need is a hit here and a hit there, and it could have made the difference. Pretty soon, I’m hoping that things work out in our favor.”
Rendon, who had struggled with a 0-for-21 start to the season, has significantly improved, going 12 for 29 since then, batting .414.
